Unattainable Desire
by chiharu-tanaka
Summary: AU. Kairi, the President's daughter. Sora, a downtown gangster seeking revenge. Riku, a skilled bodyguard. Namine, a young heiress. Roxas, a rising star. How will their destinies intertwine? Sokairi, Namiku, Roxette ON HIATUS
1. Enclosed Dreams

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

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Author's Notes: Hi-ho! I'm going to try something new this time, I hope you like it! And I'm very sorry for it being AU, but I tried my best to keep the characters original! (Yeah, right.) Anyway, on with the show! Please read and review!

Rated T for language, mild violence and sexual suggestions.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor the Final Fantasy Series. They all belong to the wonderful company Square Enix.

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_Chapter One: Enclosed Dreams_

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The strong scent of tobacco mixed with nicotine and tar filled the air. The room was dark, lit only by a florescent lamp hanging on the ceiling. The room was filled by furniture such as a torn and stained sofa, a few plastic chairs, a small television, a table and a simple bed with torn sheets. A young man, his age no older than 18, was overlooking the city through an open window. His cold blue eyes darted left and right, up and down at the busy streets far ahead in the uptown, filled with cars and rich snobs.

_Those uptown snobs won't last a day here in downtown Mirage._

Mirage was the name of the prosperous city. Or so most people thought it as prosperous. Downtown, the people lived in rags, while the uptown lived in pure luxury and indulgence. The strong blow of wind hit against the young man's face. He raked his fingers through his mahogany brown hair. After a few minutes, he closed the window and turned back to his bed. He picked up a photo frame, one of the only things that looked prized in the dull room. It was a picture of a man with blond hair and blue eyes, a woman with mahogany brown hair and green eyes, and a picture of the young man himself, a young boy with his parents.

_The uptown bastards killed my parents…and I was left alone. They're all good for nothing assholes. Thank God Cid and his gang took me in. I'm going to get revenge on those uptowns…starting with their most precious princess._

There was a knock on the door. "Sora, my boy, are you in there?" said a low, fatherly voice. Sora turned to the door.

"Come in, Cid."

Cid came into the room. He was a man in his mid thirties, with sandy blond hair and stubbles on his chin. He had a toothpick in his mouth to substitute for the cigarette he just finished smoking. He wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans, as well as army-like boots.

"Ah, I know yer very capable, Sora. So are you ready for tonight?"

"Of course."

"Okay. Be downstairs at 1930 hours sharp."

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, namely uptown Mirage, a young maiden of 17 was also inside her room. Unlike Sora's, her room was large and well-furnished. The walls were painted with a rich shade of lavender and cherry blossom, and there were painted motives on the bottom half of the wall. There was a large four poster bed at the centre of the room, overlapped with a thick layer of maroon satin sheets and a few silk covered pillows. Red drapes hung over the tall posts of the bed.

She gently combed her shoulder length burgundy red hair, seated in front of her dressing mirror. Her cheeks were lightened by a touch of cherry pink coloured blusher. Her long, black eyelashes, lengthened by mascara, accentuating her beautiful sapphire eyes. She was wearing a long dark blue evening gown with a high cut on her right thigh. With a final spray from her expensive perfume bottle, a gentle mix of sandalwood and geranium, giving of a sensual scent, she looked at her reflection, satisfied.

A terse knock came upon the door. She gave off a tired sigh, and put up a fake smile. "Come in," she said.

A man, just around 29 years of age, with a rich sandy shade of blond hair, brilliant blue eyes and a big pearly grin plastered on his face, wearing an elegant tuxedo came into the room. "Are you ready, Kairi dear? I sure hope you are!" he said, smiling at the maiden.

"Yes, I'm quite done. Let's go," she said, picking up her black purse and walking towards the door. The man closed it behind her. "You're early today, Tidus," she said again. "It's just an ordinary dinner…what's so special about it?"

"Kairi, I laugh at your sense of humour. This is the biggest event of the year! It's **the** gala dinner to celebrate Mirage's prosperity! It's a national holiday for crying out loud!" exclaimed Tidus, walking beside her.

_Yeah, and I celebrate it in the most fashionable way every year. I wish I could just stay home in my t-shirt and skirt and watch the parade live on TV._

Kairi just giggled along with him as they took the elevator down. Once there, they walked towards some occupied sofas in the condominium lobby. Kairi and her parents owned a penthouse in that building. Her father was the most influential political businessman that was voted President a couple of years ago. Her mother was an heir to a worldwide chain of luxury hotels and resorts. Naturally, she was the girl born with everything a girl could want. A perfect life. However, that was not at all what she thought of her life.

She was tutored since kindergarten up till graduation, which was earlier that year. She was supposed to leave Mirage to study business overseas, seeing she herself is an heir. Although she was literally swimming in billions of dollars and fed caviar everyday, her life felt somewhat incomplete without friends and love from her family. She knew her parents loved her very much, but they were too busy to actually pay attention to her growing up.

The only people she really considered family was Tidus, a young man who's heir to a few large companies, one in architecture and buildings, another with factories producing snacks for worldwide shipping, and another for cellular connections. He was also the founder and the owner of a new company, which was kept secret from public – a company dealing with safety of VIPs and espionage on downtown Mirage. She also had a best friend of her own, Tidus's younger sister, Naminé , who was about a year younger than her.

Seated on an armchair was Kairi's father, a man with dark brown hair, bright blue eyes and a pair of thick square glasses over the bridge of his nose. He was also wearing a tuxedo. Her mother was seated on two-seated sofa next to the armchair. Kairi's mother was a stunningly beautiful woman for her age, with long red waves of burgundy hair and a warm shade of hazel brown eyes. She was wearing a maroon gown. Naminé was seating opposite of Kairi's mom, on a sofa that was against the wall. Naminé was a petite girl with fair pinkish skin, brilliant blue eyes like her brother, and a lighter shade of blond hair compared to her brother's. She was wearing a light blue dress with a simple design. Their parents had divorced a few years back, so Tidus was with his father, while Naminé was with her mother.

Kairi took a seat beside her mother, fiddling with the long white gloves that covered from the tip of her fingers until about halfway her upper arm. Tidus took a seat beside his sister and smiled at the company he had.

"Well, before we leave, I arranged for the usual bodyguards to follow us around. Oh, except you, Kairi – I assigned a new bodyguard for you."

_What! Rude was such a good bodyguard! He really made me feel safe. Even though he was too quiet, but hey – he strikes fear in the hearts of many._

"Let's go, now, wouldn't wanna be late!" he chimed. Kairi's parents walked off first with their bodyguards, as they were taking a limousine ride to the dinner first. Tidus and the two girls walked down the lobby second, greeted by three bodyguards. Rude was still there, fortunately for Kairi. He was a tall, dark-skinned, bald-headed man with loads of earrings on his right ear. He wore sunglasses all the time, so Kairi never really saw what his eyes were like. Another bodyguard standing beside Rude was someone she knew, who was Naminé's bodyguard. Her name was Elena, and she was a perky, chirpy girl who talks non-stop, with short blond hair and hazel brown eyes.

The third bodyguard was completely new to both Kairi and Naminé, as they had never seen him before. He was quite tall, slightly shorter than Tidus, with a peculiar shade of platinum silver hair that was shoulder-length and marine blue eyes that looked like the ocean. All three bodyguards were wearing black suits over a white shirt and a black necktie.

"Well, you two know Rude and Elena," said Tidus, "But Riku here is a new recruit. He'll be your bodyguard for the time being, Kairi."

_Tidus is overworked, alright. He's letting this silver-haired freak protect me? He doesn't even look 20! His handsome face is more suited to become an actor on those cheesy soap operas than protecting **my** life._

"I'm going to go ahead with Rude, so you four will take two more limos over there," said Tidus again, pointing to two limousines coming up on the driveway. He climbed in the backseat of the second limousine. Rude took the front passenger seat and the driver sped off the condominium towards the dinner venue.

As the third limo came up on the driveway, Riku stepped forward and opened the door for Kairi. With an awkward smile, Kairi stepped inside the black limo and sat down. She opened the window and waved goodbye at Naminé and Elena. Riku climbed in the front passenger seat, and the limo was off towards the dinner as well.

"You…alright back there, Miss Kairi?" said a voice from the intercom, who obviously didn't belong to the experienced limo driver.

"Yes, Riku, I'm fine. Don't call me 'Miss Kairi', I'm not **that** old," replied Kairi. She heard him chuckle.

"Okay, if that's what you wish, Kairi."

He turned off the intercom, and so did she. She looked outside at the buildings and cars that were passing by. _My life isn't perfect…nobody has a perfect life._

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Kairi tried not to flinch at the camera flashes that were aiming at her as her arrival was announced by a reporter for the news. She smiled and walked down the red carpet behind Tidus and her parents, Riku following close behind.

Ever since she turned 15, her social life was always surrounded by cameras and paparazzi. She was quite the celebrity, as she had turned down many hopeful directors and producers wanting her to sing or act. She remembered telling Naminé, "I know I sing good, and I don't need to be rich to start off that career…if I actually wanted to."

Her latest gossip was a rumour that a relationship was going on between her and teen heartthrob Roxas Parker, who's latest album reached platinum. _I've never even met Roxas and they're already giving me bullshit!_

The reporter with the microphone who announced her arrival came up to her and asked, "Miss Kairi! Have you any comment about the rumours about you and famous teen superstar Roxas Parker?" Kairi smiled.

"Sad to say, I've never met him before," she said, before walking on, ignoring the loud questions being thrown at her. Riku escorted her to a table that she, her parents, Tidus and Naminé, and their mother would be dining at. She took a seat that Riku politely pulled out for her. "Thank you," she said, sitting down.

Naminé came up and sat beside her moments later. "So, how did you answer the nosy reporters?" she asked, blinking.

"I keep telling them that I've never met Roxas, and they keep saying that I do! Why won't they ever listen?"

"That's because they think you're denying it."

"Right…I know Roxas is really handsome and all…but he's not my type."

"So, what **is** your type then, Kairi?"

"I dunno…I like guys who are not that tall…and if they're tanned. I'm turned off by fair guys after watching that ridiculous soapie 'Comet Garden'."

They both giggled. "So, what's your type, Naminé?" asked Kairi.

Naminé blushed and slapped Kairi's hand playfully. "Drop the subject…you know how I feel!"

"Yes, yes, you're still crushing on famous actor Squall Leonheart after watching him on 'Campus'."

"I heard he's coming here!" she squeaked in delight. "I wonder if I can get an autograph? Oh my gosh, I wonder what he's going to wear?"

Kairi giggled as Naminé's face and ears brightened up a red colour. "You're flaring up! Let's just relax and enjoy the dinner."

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"You know the plan, now split up and regroup at the dinner!"

That was Cid's order as the group, consisting of Sora, Cid, a ninja girl who will be performing at the dinner named Yuffie, a little group of friends who called themselves Tantalus, who also will be performing, and a good buddy of his, Wakka. The plan of the group was to infiltrate the building without getting noticed, and when Cid turns the lights off, Sora will go forth and kidnap the 'princess', by knocking her unconscious with chloroform, then carrying her out the backdoor before Cid turns the lights back on.

Wakka will be ready with a getaway car right outside the building after lowering down security, mainly by knocking out the guards and Cid hacking into the surveillance cameras. Tantalus and Yuffie would be there as backup, and a cover-up so that no one finds their hideout.

Sora was to wait for the cue, inside the building with Cid in the surveillance room. Cid reran the process of briefing Sora once more as they were on the road before arriving there. "Our target is the daughter of Zachary and Calista Herrington. She will be seated at the table nearest to the stage. At 2030 hours sharp, I will turn off all electricity inside the building for precisely 5 minutes, enough for you to kidnap her, and enough for me to turn it back on and escape. We then take Wakka's car out back. Wakka will then change the car license, and we'll be heading for downtown once more to our hideout. Clear?"

"Crystal, Cid, I hear you. I'm not deaf, you know."

The target, Mirage's little princess, was still casually talking to her friend as Tantalus was doing their sketch on stage. Yuffie was already standing by the escape route to assist Sora, which is making sure he comes out safely and quickly return to backstage.

A few seconds before 8:30 p.m. and Sora was standing ready for the kidnap to finally come. The lights when off and the room was filled with screaming and gasps. "Go check the fuse box!" said a voice. Sora pulled a pair of night vision goggles over his eyes and moved swiftly towards his target. Kairi didn't even get a chance to scream as she fainted.

"Are you okay, Kairi?" asked Riku, leaning forward towards where Kairi was sitting. He felt something push him backwards really hard and he fell down onto the floor. When he got up to point an electric rod to his perpetrator, Sora was already halfway to the escape route.

The lights slowly flickered back on, and the music from the sketch was played. Tantalus was still onstage, 'shocked' at what had happened. "We're terribly sorry, ladies and gentlemen, for that technical error," said a voice from the surveillance room. It seemed that he saw the guy who fell asleep, but he didn't know that it was because of chloroform until a loud scream echoed at the VIP table.

"Kairi!" wailed her mother. Kairi's chair was knocked over, and Riku was already searching the rear exit for the kidnappers. Naminé looked around for any signs of her, but half an hour later, Riku returned with disappointing results. The police were called immediately to handle the situation. Naminé and Kairi's mother, Calista broke down into tears. Kairi's frustrated father, Zachary, was yelling off any unfortunate pair of ears unlucky enough to be scolded at.

In short, the gala dinner…was a complete disaster.

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To be continued…

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A/n: Please review! It'll make Chiharu very happy!

EDIT 2006-05-07 I changed BHK's name to the default name, Roxas.


	2. A New Experience

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

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A/n: I'm so tired…but I still got the spunk to write this down! It's fun! You know…Britney Spears's Overprotected really gets me into the groove of this story. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. They both belong to Square Enix.

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_Chapter Two: A New Experience_

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Tears were unstoppable in that room that night. Elena handed Kairi's mother, Calista, what seemed to be the hundredth piece of tissue that night. Rude, Tidus, Kairi's father and the entire police force were still searching for Kairi's whereabouts in the city. Riku, who felt responsible, joined the search even though Tidus had strongly advised him to stay home.

_Kairi…she disappeared right under my nose! I didn't even hear her scream! Oh God, I pray that she'll be okay…_

Naminé wiped the tears away from her eyes with another piece of tissue. She looked at all of them in the living room at Kairi's house that night. Her mother was nervously fiddling with a piece of paper in her hand. Elena was trying her best to comfort Kairi's mother, who was crying her heart out. They all had the same questions in their minds.

_Where could Kairi be now? What do these people want with her? Did they kidnap her for ransom? Is she going to be okay? Are they going to harm her?_

Naminé could only hold her tears for so long until she felt herself wash away with sadness and anxiety. She sobbed uncontrollably, grasping Kairi's petite pink cell phone in her hands. In a few moments, Elena's cell phone rang, which she answered, for the first time, in a serious manner.

"Yes, sir?" she answered, noting quickly the caller ID. Tidus coughed from the other side.

"Get down to the lobby and meet up at HQ."

"Yes, sir," she replied. She turned to Kairi's mother. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Herrington…duty calls…" she said apologetically.

"Yes…go on Elena. Please find her…"

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The morning sunlight hit against stained windows. The pale grey curtains blew inwards with the spring breeze. A young sparrow hopped onto the windowsill before taking off in flight once more as a groan was heard from inside the room.

_What…? The bed feels so hard…and my hand…_

Kairi's blue eyes shot open in horror. She barely remembered fainting from last night. She got up and found her left arm cuffed onto the bedpost. She looked around, frightened at the new surroundings. The room was dull, barely furnished, and invaluable. As soon as Kairi realised that she was kidnapped, she screamed.

"Shut up, princess, there's no one around here for blocks away except us."

The stern voice came from behind the door. It swung open, and in came a medium-height man, just her age, with a luxurious shade of mahogany brown hair set in a disarrayed manner, and deep, tantalizing sky blue eyes. He wore a casual black T-shirt and white slacks.

_Wow…he's hot. What! What are you thinking, Kairi? This guy kidnapped you – and most probably going to ask daddy for ransom! Or even, kill me!_

"Why did you kidnap me?" spat Kairi. Sora looked down on the floor in silence. "Answer me, you jerk!"

At that comment, Sora looked up at her, deeply, with his eyes. Kairi felt her mouth close in fear as his ice blue eyes froze her anger over. "We aren't like you uptowns. If you're wondering if we're going to ask your father for ransom, you're wrong. We kidnapped you so that you and your people fear us."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "That's a stupid reason to kidnap me…won't that just waste your efforts?" she muttered. Sora looked at her, and then smirked.

"Oh contraire, Miss Herrington. We're very well trained to hide ourselves from your spies. We're going to keep you as long as it takes so that they know what they deserve for neglecting us. Actually, by my choice, I would have rather killed you."

Kairi let out a little gasp of fear. _Someone so handsome could be so…deadly, _she thought.

"Thanks to Cid, our leader, he spared your life. But no matter. It's not like we'll return you to your family. You're going to die here and rot miserably anyway."

She felt a few droplets of tears flow from her eyes. She had so much for her in life – and it took a dead end at that grimly point. She ignored Sora's presence and sobbed mercilessly into her hands.

"Sora! You idiot, did you make her cry!" yelled a loud female voice. A second person came into the room – a young girl with fair skin, short black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a green sleeveless turtleneck and khaki shorts.

"I'm really sorry for whatever the brat said to you, Miss Herrington…" she said again, sitting down on the bed beside Kairi.

"Oh, now it's my fault for telling the truth? She IS going to stay with us forever, am I right?" he shouted.

"That's for Cid to decide!" yelled Yuffie back. She patted Kairi's back. "I'm going to vote for you to be released, okay?"

"But why…why me? Why did you have to kidnap me? I mean, it's not for money!" wailed Kairi. Sora snorted in disgust and left the room.

"I'm sorry – but we had to get the elites attention one way or another. We weren't going to harm you or anything…" Yuffie handed her a handkerchief, which she gladly took to wipe the tears away.

"I hope I can go home soon…thanks for cheering me up…um…"

"Yuffie. I'm going to do my best to get you back up there…it's sad to see you stay here with us when you have a bright future ahead of you…I'm not the one to blame people, but it was all Sora's idea to kidnap you…I just hesitantly agreed."

They sat there in silence, when Kairi spoke up. "I just realised…how, sorry for being rude, poor you guys are…now I feel guilty for living in riches."

"It's not your fault…we're born that way. What's living if you don't try your hardest? I mean, we make a hard living, but it feeds us. We're all orphans, all of us taken in by Cid and Baku. Ever since then, we've been family. You're lucky you still have your parents. Among all of us…Sora's been most affected. So don't take it so hard on him."

Kairi smiled and nodded. Her cheeks turned pink as her stomach grumbled loudly. Yuffie gave a little chuckle. "Do you want some breakfast? Ruby made some awesome pancakes."

She smiled. _Suddenly being kidnapped doesn't sound so bad…even though father and mother…as well as Naminé are worried sick about me…I can't do anything…I have no idea where I am, or how to get back home. If I walk there…I'll get into much worse conditions…_

"Sure."

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A frustrated sigh echoed through the large, empty room. Keys were tossed onto the table. He emptied his pocket and set his cell phone and wallet aside on the table. He took his black coat off and laid it over a chair. He then took off his black necktie and laid it on top of the coat. He sat down on the sofa and unbuttoned the top half of his white shirt. The news was on, and the anchorwoman was reading details about the headlines.

_President's Daughter Is Missing._

"The President's only daughter, Kairi Herrington, 17 years of age, mysteriously disappeared during the annual Gala Dinner celebrating Mirage's Prosperity Day. Witnesses claimed that she was kidnapped, but police investigation is yet to confirm any suspects. The kidnapping happened when…"

The television was turned off and he breathed out another sigh as he raked through his silver hair.

_Riku, you dope…how could you let her go missing just like that?_

She was the reason he got a job as a bodyguard. It wasn't hard, he came from a long line of skilled fighters, with talent to match. At the youthful age of eighteen, he proved himself worthy to obtain this demanding job with an exceptional display of strength and agility. As Riku stared outside the window, he remembered the one question Tidus asked him during their formal interview.

"Why do you want this job? You're still so young. Guarding VIPs in Mirage isn't just boring, it's life-threatening, too."

He had came to the big city to look for that particular job a few months after graduation. All because his marine eyes landed on an article with the President's daughter in it. Somehow, he thought he could actually get the chance to be her bodyguard if he performed well enough in the establishment.

"Well, you might think it's funny, sir, but I felt that I was born to protect people," he had answered. Tidus, with a smile, took the young lad in and dismissed the happy Riku from the office.

His heart ached with every beat it made. He couldn't bear thinking how Kairi was at the moment, whether or not her indigo blue eyes were stained with tears. The monster growling within the depths of his heart unleashed itself as Riku grabbed the nearest object he could grasp – a flower vase that Elena gave him as a welcome gift – and threw it across the room, where it smashed into pieces, leaving fragments of glass, and also his feelings of anxiety, on the floor.

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Yuffie and Ruby had grins on their faces as they watched Kairi cut a piece of pancake that was flowed with syrup over it and popped it into her mouth.

"So, how is it, Miss Herrington?" asked Ruby, her eyes sparkling. Kairi swallowed the chewed pancake before replying.

"First of all, you don't have to call me 'Miss Herrington' all the time, I'm not used to that. Secondly, these pancakes are good! How'd you make them, Ruby?"

Ruby gave a little 'ohoho' laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. "That's a secret, doll face." Yuffie grinned along.

"Don't try to scoop any secret recipes outta her, she's a tough ice to break."

Kairi smiled as she started to eat more of the pancakes. "Well, at least you guys can cook. I can barely cook an egg without burning it whole or setting the kitchen on fire."

Yuffie and Ruby exchanged surprised looks at each other. "Are you quite serious?" asked Yuffie, not believing her ears.

"Yeah, my mom doesn't allocate me enough time to actually learn cooking…I've been busy with studies, and the frequent trips to spas, massage centres, beauty salons, hair salons, shopping malls, eating dinner with more old geezers and heavily perfumed snobs…"

Kairi ended her sentence in a sigh. Yuffie and Ruby looked her in bewilderment. "Wow, your life sounds so much more interesting than ours…care to tell us about it?" asked Ruby, all ears.

"Well, I live a super fancy life, with everything a girl could want; shoes, accessories, clothes, hats, make-up, the spotlight, the red carpet…"

"Wow! Hey, I've been wanting to ask you – is it true that you're dating Roxas Parker? I hope not, I'm his biggest fan!" wailed Ruby.

Kairi laughed. "Don't listen to those stupid rumours – I've never even met Roxas, how am I supposed to date him? Speaking of which, I think my mother was about to set me up with some ambassador's son if you guys didn't come along and took me here."

"Don't you have friends? I bet you have many," said Yuffie.

With a dignified snort, Kairi replied, "Yeah right. Most of the people who actually want to be my friends just want to use me for my father's power, status and riches. The only friends I've got is Tidus and his sister Naminé, they're friends from when I was really small…"

"Oh, you mean Tidus Crucis, that businessman dude who owns Snackers Inc.?" asked Yuffie.

"Urm…yeah."

"Wow, Kairi…you really DO know a lot of VIPs…" said Ruby in awe.

After ending breakfast with a mug of hot chocolate, Yuffie squeaked "Ah" out of nowhere as she noticed something. Ruby and Kairi turned to her.

"What's wrong, Yuffie?" asked Ruby. Yuffie turned to Kairi with an apologetic look.

"I forgot…since Sora kidnapped you and all…you don't have a spare change of clothing."

"C'mon," she said again, taking Kairi's hand and going up a flight of steps to the second floor. They walked past the room where Kairi woke up in and towards the end of the hall.

Yuffie swung open the door, and Kairi gaped in awe as there were so many different sets of colourful costumes hung on metal clothes racks and rolls of fabric standing against the wall. A sewing machine was in the middle of the room, situated on a wooden table. Several stacks of paper with designs on it were on the table.

"Welcome to my workshop, Kairi. Ruby's really good in cooking, but for some odd reason that doesn't quite fit me, I've always been good at making clothes," said Yuffie. Kairi looked around and picked up a dress that was hanging on a corner labelled, "New Designs".

"At first I was kind of embarrassed to tell people of this…hobby of mine, but my mother taught me how to sew since I could speak! Now that my parents have moved on, Ruby said it was best that I continued with my mother's wishes."

Kairi looked at her reflection in the mirror, holding the dress in front of her. "Are you serious, Yuffie? Your works are great! These could even beat the new Tinkerbell designs on the Spring/Summer Roadshow last week!"

Yuffie blushed in embarrassment. "No, really, don't praise me like that…this is just mediocre stuff compared to what you've seen."

Kairi set the dress back and found a white tank top and purple mini-skirt that caught her eye. She picked it up and turned to Yuffie. "Not really, their designs are so lame and made for people like my mother. Now this," she said, showing her the pair, "Is what teenagers would definitely love. A funky, cool new style."

Ruby giggled. "Praise her any more, Kairi, and she might just give you that top and skirt you're holding. You look good in it."

Yuffie looked at Kairi. "Yeah, you're right. Take these…even though it's not as expensive as what you usually buy."

Kairi grinned in joy. "Thank you! Oh, this is great!" she exclaimed. "Quantity doesn't always mean it's in best quality, anyway."

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The three girls walked downstairs once more as Kairi was dressed in her new white tank top – with two horizontal lines on the right side of the shirt and the purple miniskirt with a indigo belt. As they gathered into a living room, there were people already there. One was a young boy with dark blond hair with the impression of a monkey, sitting on an armchair. Another was a cool, dark-skinned guy with a do-rag tied on his bald head, sitting on a couch. The third one had fiery red hair, wearing a black shirt sitting next to baldie. The fourth was a little fat man with a peculiar hat.

The four men noticed Kairi's presence and turned their attention away from the TV and onto her. "Looks like our princess is up," said the monkey. The bald one just turned back to the TV. The redhead and the fat man stood up and walked closer to Kairi.

"Back off, Blank and Cinna – she's not interested," said Ruby, narrowing her eyes at them. They slumped in defeat and sat back down.

"Interested in what?" asked Kairi.

"Joining Tantalus, what else. I'm the only actress, and that makes it hard sometimes when there's two female roles."

Kairi giggled at what Ruby meant. "I remember that you guys performed last night…you were awesome."

"Thanks. Well, now that all of Tantalus is up – time for practice!"

"Aww, Ruby! Don't tell me we're going to practice until 6 p.m. like yesterday?" wailed the monkey. The bald one just grunted as he stood up and headed for the door.

"Shut up, Zidane – see, Marcus is already off. Now get your butt out of that couch!" she wailed, and shooed the three guys out of the house.

"Come, I'll show you around the house," said Yuffie.

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To be continued…

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A/n: Okay, here's chapter 2…why so little reviews? I can see all you silent readers out there! Review please? Don't worry about Riku though, he's not going to bother the Sora/Kairi pairing for this story.

Riku: Hey! What about me? Who am I paired up with?

Me: You'll find out soon, nyuk nyuk nyuk…

EDIT 2006-05-07 I changed BHK's name to the default name, Roxas.


	3. Different Side

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

* * *

**A/n:** Thank you for your reviews, once again! This time, I'd like to personally thank my reviewers for their spanking reviews!

HopelessxDreamer – Yes, I was playing with the F4 people. Heheh.

Blu Rose – Wahh, so nice of you to read my fic! And yes, what you wished for will come true.

Metal Chopsticks – Yes, Sora's HOT. And yes, we're on the same wavelength on the pairing thing…

thesrazrbladekisses – Aww, shucks. It's not that great.

RuinsofTikal – Thank you!

Ukalie – I learn something new everyday…

heartsoblivion – Thanks!

soras friend901 – I'm definitely gonna make more. And yes, there's gonna be more Sora/Kairi fluff.

Sweet Raine – Thanks! More fluff coming your way in this chapter!

**Disclaimer:**

Chiharu: I'm not saying anything else until my lawyer gets here.

Sora: You don't have a lawyer…

Chiharu: Hush! I'm quoting CSI!

Kairi: You don't own that either.

Chiharu: Fine…

* * *

**Chapter 3: Different Side**

* * *

The silent sobbing finally ended at the break of dawn. Sunlight streaked across a maiden's fair features as she slept through the morning, until the sun was high above the serene heavens. The perfectly fine spring day seemed like a stormy winter night after what happened the night before. The catastrophe that befallen the prosperous city of Mirage had turned her world upside down. The maiden slowly turned to her bedside table when she heard her little silver cell phone ringing. She picked it up and flipped it open, still lying down on her bed.

"Hello…?" she asked, in a tired, unenthusiastic voice.

"Good morning, angel…are you feeling okay?"

She got up groggily and sat up, tugging at her white nightdress. There was only one man that would call her 'angel'. "Yes, Tidus…I'm okay. Did you find Kairi?"

"No…the whole squad is still looking for her as we speak. I'm about to leave for another staff meeting in 10 minutes."

"…"

"I know you're upset, angel…so am I, but we're doing our best to find her."

"Yes, I know that. I just hope she's okay…"

"Same here. Listen, I gotta go. Maybe we should have dinner together tonight. Just like old times. Whaddya say?"

"Sure…mom won't mind."

"I'll pick you up at 7, okay? See you, angel."

"Umm…bye."

She snapped the foldable phone shut and set it back on the table. She grabbed the remote control and turned the television sitting across her room on. The headlines were still the same as the night before.

"The search for the President's daughter, Kairi Herrington, is still on. Witnesses claimed to have heard a sound of a car leaving the building in a hurry. Traffic reports confirmed the car to be a white coloured SUV…"

Naminé turned off the television and tossed the remote to the edge of her large bed. She hugged her knees and buried her head in it, crying silently.

_Please be safe…we miss you so much…_

* * *

"Let the meeting commence. We'll start with Elena."

The pallid walls of the meeting room in the headquarters slowly darkened as the light was dimmed. Twelve of the agency's best agents, and their leader and president, Tidus, slowly entered the room and took their seats, with a gloom in the aura of the office. Elena got up from her seat on the far right of Tidus, who was sitting down at the head of the table.

"From the witness reports and traffic reports during the period of the kidnapping, the vehicle used by the kidnappers was a white 4x4 Ford Land Cruiser, an old model. If you will avert your eyes to the screen…" she clicked a button on the remote to show a picture on the projection screen. It showed several pictures of a white vehicle zooming across the highways of Mirage.

"This vehicle was claimed to have entered the alleys nearby the building. We weren't sure of the fact, because the surveillance cameras around the building was destroyed…except for this one we've acquired from an ATM across the street."

She pressed 'play' on the screen, and the video was played. 3 faded figures were spotted, carrying what seemed to be Kairi. "The processing department is still working on refining the videos to get a clearer image of the kidnappers. We will get a copy to all the tables once they do."

Elena sat down and arranged her papers, face still emotionless. Tidus nodded. "Good work. You and Tseng will be in charge of getting the identity of the kidnappers. Next…what do you have for us, Rude?"

"Yes, sir. We have followed the traffic reports and surveillance cameras on the main highways, and found the white Ford heading towards downtown Mirage. As cameras are yet to have been put within the area, two groups have been assigned to a split-up search around the residence there."

He clicked a button on his laptop, and a map was showed on the screen. "The areas in blue are where we have already checked, in contrary to the red. The search may get narrower as we gather more evidence on where the Ford may have gone off to."

"Okay. Rude, you're in charge of tracking down the vehicle. The rest of you, you know what to do. Dismissed."

* * *

"Ow…my back…"

Sora turned his head sideways as he heard voices coming from the entrance. Tantalus emerged and hung out in the living room. "Gosh…I need a massage…Ruby, you're worse than an army commander!" wailed Zidane, rubbing his back.

"Oh, stop wailing, Zidane, all of us are making a hard living."

A quick glance upon them from a stranger's eyes, it was hard to think that these people could even stand 5 minutes together – but they were living under one chaotic roof! A slow blink covered Sora's blue eyes. He just smiled as he silently took a sip from the iced tea Yuffie made.

"Hey, Yuffie…"

In the kitchen, Yuffie and Kairi were seated on the table, drinking iced tea themselves. Yuffie turned to look at the young heiress. "Yes, Kairi?" she asked.

"Why does…that guy…look so depressed? You told me that he was really affected and all…" she began, stuttering slightly. She nervously tucked a lock of her shoulder-length red hair behind her ear.

"Well…like I told you, we're all orphans, right? But Sora…he…" Yuffie paused. Kairi looked at her, eyelids drooping down slightly as Yuffie continued. "He showed up on our doorstep one rainy night…he was only eleven at that time, and Ruby and I were already fourteen. His clothes were stained with mud, rain and blood…he wasn't injured or anything…he just sat there silently, clutching a photo in his hands."

Kairi took a moment to bite her lower lip. "When Cid changed him into dry clothes, he asked Sora…what happened. Although Sora…at the time…didn't say anything, he just cried…" Yuffie paused again to take a sip from her iced tea. "He lived under this roof…as one of us, and a few days later, he told Cid what happened."

"What…happened?" asked Kairi tentatively.

"He told Cid that his parents were murdered right before his eyes. His mother told him to run away…and that led him to our house. He told us that the elites…killed his parents. 'The men wore expensive suits', he said. That's most probably why he's so angry at you this morning."

"Just because…I'm one of them? But I didn't know…"

"I know, Kairi. There's a lot of bad people in this world, be it from uptown or downtown Mirage. Either way, Sora is just too stubborn. He won't listen to any of us once he's made up his mind."

* * *

"Dinner's ready! Hurry up or Zidane and Cinna will eat them all!" wailed Ruby's voice.

Sora got up from the bed he was lying down on and opened the door. He walked downstairs, where Cid and Baku were already talking to Kairi, Yuffie and Ruby; Cinna and Zidane grabbing all the food they could, while Blank, Wakka and Marcus just resumed eating, tired of the daily antics.

"You're in tip-top shape, right, Miss Herrington? I don't wanna send you back injured or anything…" said Baku.

Kairi nodded. "I'm okay…really. Just call me Kairi."

The whole table came to a silence as Sora took a seat and grabbed a plate for himself. He gave everyone at the table a cold glare, which made them resume their own business.

"Yo, could ya brats shut up for a bit? We gonna have a discussion here," yelled Cid all of a sudden. The rest of the group turned to look at Cid, who seemed a bit annoyed. "Now, listen up and listen well. How long should we keep Kairi here under our roof? One week, tops."

Her indigo eyes seemed damp. It was then Sora saw a different side of her. She looked so confident, so popular on the covers of the magazines, on the screen of the televisions. Her indigo eyes were usually bursting with energy.

_She's in no position to say anything…she's being held hostage._

'But she had nothing to do with your parents' murder…let it go, Sora, it's all in the past,' said another voice in his head.

_I don't think I can…if it weren't for the people of her kind, Mom and Dad would still be alive._

'But look at her…she's innocent! She has nothing to do with this, you idiot – now listen to your conscience and LET IT GO!'

The raging battle in Sora's head was giving him a migraine. But as he was battling with his conscience, he realised that no one had voiced out anything yet. Then, he laid his eyes on Kairi once more. She was already breathing slowly, trying to hold back her tears.

_She…is innocent._

At that moment, Sora felt like the entire burden within his heart was lifted. He set the fork down and looked down at his plate.

_I was supposed to kidnap her for revenge…but I ended up hurting more people…she has parents of her own…_

"Three days," he said. Everyone turned to look at him with astonished looks on their faces. "Today is already one day, so she'll go back on Friday."

Silence ensued. Nobody thought that Sora, of all people, would speak up, and even if he did, they thought the worst. He was actually letting Kairi off easy, their minds screamed. A few moments later, everyone resumed eating. Sora only dared to look up once, towards Kairi.

Her eyes met his. They were no longer damp with sorrow, but glowing with happiness. Her eyes seemed to say two words to him.

_Thank you._

* * *

Sorrowful blue eyes were reflected against a mirror. The drapes were drawn to a close, its soft creamy white colour. The pastel orchid white walls hued perfectly with the wicker-coloured furniture in the room, but still she breathed out a sigh. She stood up from the seat opposite the dressing table and headed for her bedroom door, and exited.

Blond hair tucked over her right shoulder as always, Naminé was dressed in a simple caramel coloured blouse and white skirt. She fiddled with a tiny topaz pendant on the end of the white gold chain of her necklace.

"My dear," her mother told her before she moved into her new penthouse a few weeks after graduation. "Inside this box is a family treasure. It once belonged to your great grandmother Eloise Castell, and we have passed it down. Now it's your turn to own it, just like I did when I was a young girl like you."

Naminé slowly opened the box and pulled out the necklace gently. "Why is the pendant…shaped like a star?" she had asked her mother.

"It's a symbol of destiny. Your great grandmother had it made that way because she believed the stars helped her in life. She met her husband, a successful and wealthy man, had lots of kids, and led a happy life. When her husband died, however, everything was left to her name. My mother told me that if you wear this necklace…the destinies of you, and your loved ones, will always be intertwined."

_I hope Kairi comes back safe and sound…nothing else matters now._

She exited her penthouse as the door clicked in auto-lock. She tugged her petite white purse and stepped into the elevator and pressed the 'down' button to get to the lobby. There, she walked out and was greeted by Tidus, who was reading a newspaper.

"Good evening, angel…ready to go?" he asked, standing up. Naminé nodded shyly and walked behind her brother to his black Porsche parked outside. They both climbed in their seats, and the car zoomed off towards their destination: a classy French restaurant named Carousel on the upper east side of town.

"How's the search?" she asked, her voice barely audible. They were seated at a table by the window, overlooking the waterfront. Tidus looked at her and sighed.

"Elena found some details on the kidnappers…and they're all working overtime right now. I'm going back to office later anyway."

"I miss Kairi…"

"I know you do, angel…we all do. But we're already trying our hardest…"

A silent nod. A sigh ensued. They said no more until the food was served.

* * *

Their footsteps made quick taps against the concrete ground. They were walking back to the black Porsche after dinner, and the indoor car park was deserted. After Kairi's kidnapping, everyone in uptown Mirage suddenly lost the urge to go out and dine.

"Have you decided which college you wanted to go to?" asked Tidus.

"I've applied for an art academy in France…but I haven't got an answer yet."

"I see."

Silence was becoming so used to them. It was they who weren't used to silence. Tidus scratched his neck as he reached the black Porsche and unlocked it with the remote. Without warning, however, a gunshot was heard.

Naminé's shrill scream drowned the silence away as more shots were fired. "Get down!" yelled Tidus, rushing over to his sister. Naminé whimpered in fear. Tidus took a semi-automatic pistol from inside his jacket and took aim.

"Tidus Crucis! Come out, come out wherever you are!" yelled a man's playful but loud voice.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Axel…" said a second voice, a female one.

"Naminé…I want you to take the car…" Tidus told his sister in under a whisper. Naminé shook her head.

"They're after you…don't worry about me…I'll be fine. Take the car and go…I'll wait until they're gone and take a cab…home."

"No, I won't leave you…"

"GO!" she said, pushing him towards the car. Tidus looked at her one last time in pure regret and hopped in the car. He started the engine and drove off. Naminé quickly hid in the shadows behind an old van. She saw the assailants shoot off at Tidus's car as it left the building. The man had long fiery red hair and eerie green eyes, while the woman had blond hair and icy blue eyes.

"Zexion, he's going up the front area. You and Lexaeus follow him," she growled into a walkie-talkie on her headphones. She snapped the microphone back to place over the earphones and walked upwards, closer towards Naminé's hiding place.

"I hope this mission brings SOME info in…I'm getting tired of chasing Crucis," said the blond-haired woman.

"Yeah, I'm with you too, Larxene, otherwise Marluxia's gonna have us chasing his tail every minute! What's he got against Crucis anyway, a crush?"

They were only several feet away from Naminé on the other side of the van, and she covered her mouth and held her breath as long as she could while backing up towards the van. Unlucky for her, the alarm of the van sounded off when her head pressed against the door handle.

Axel turned his head around the van and saw Naminé hiding in the shadows. "Whehey, what do we have here?" he said, walking up to Naminé. Larxene walked up behind him and looked down at Naminé.

"Aren't you…Crucis's sister? Hmph, seems that you were with your brother just now." She set down her microphone and coughed slightly as Axel grabbed hold of Naminé's hands. "Erm, Marluxia? Sorry to bother you, but we have Crucis's sister in captive. What should we do with her?"

"Take her back to the hideout. We'll use her as bait," replied Marluxia on the other end.

"Yes, sir."

Axel smirked with an evil glint in his eye. "Looks like you're coming with us…hmm…you look like you're good in bed." Larxene shot a death glare at him.

"Shut up, you sadistic sexist."

* * *

To be continued…

* * *

A/n: Whew! Completed at last! I'm gonna have a whole week of nothing but exams…so I won't be updating until I'm finished with them. Yes, the star-shaped pendant is a Paopu…and yes, now both Kairi and Naminé are kidnapped. Heheh, I'm such an evil writer. Kairi's pretty safe, but what about Naminé? I'm sure Axel and co. aren't very nice…Don't think Tidus is chicken; he's just extremely busy looking for Kairi. Oh, and Yuna will be up in the next chapter! Yay! Now…where does Riku come in?

Riku: You're excluding me, you terrible writer.

Chiharu: Oh, so you want me to write that you will be working in the next chapter in a pink ballerina tutu?

Riku: (gulp) N…no.


	4. Rescue

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

* * *

A/n: Thanks for the reviews! I love you guys so much! Problem is, I can't answer your reviews or will kick me out! (sigh) I guess I'll just mention all the names of my wonderful reviewers.

I'd like to thank **Sweet Raine, Blu Rose, thesrazrbladekisses, RuinsofTikal, HopelessxDreamer, heartsoblivion, Absh **and** Metal Chopsticks **for their awesome reviews! And also an anonymous reviewer (smile). **You guys rock!**

This chapter is going to satisfy the loyal Namiku and Sokairi fans, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Characters © Tetsuya Nomura and Yoshitaka Amano; Story and plot © Chiharu Tanaka 2005

* * *

**Chapter 4: Rescue**

* * *

"She's not home, sir."

"She's WHAT!"

"She's nowhere around the car park either. You've tried contacting her cell phone, right, sir?"

"Yes, there's no answer…wait." He pressed a button on his desktop and a large screen showing the map of uptown Mirage came on the screen. "I have her location on the GPS…it seems that she's…been taken hostage by those bastards…come to my office in HQ. I will give you further details."

"Yes, sir."

Tidus set the phone down on his table. He massaged his temple and breathed out a sigh. The week was not working out for him. First Kairi, now his little sister Naminé? He pressed the intercom button on the phone.

"Yuna…could you get me a glass of water and some aspirin?"

"Right away, sir…warm or cold?"

"Warm. Thanks."

A few moments later, his secretary, Yuna, entered the office with a tray. She was a sweet, gentle lady with shoulder length brown hair and beautiful blue-green eyes. She set the tray down and handed the glass and tablets to Tidus. "You should really allocate some time for a vacation…I mean; you even work during weekends, sir."

"Drop the formalities, there's no one in here but you and me," he said, before gulping down the aspirins.

"Feel better?" she asked, a sweet smile on her face, as she tucked a lock of her short brown hair behind her ear.

"Much better. Thanks."

She gently tugged his hand. "Come, sit on the sofa. I'll give you a massage." He followed her onto the sofa and sat down. She sat down beside him as he turned sideways away from her.

"You don't have to work overtime, you know," said Tidus. Yuna giggled and slowly massaged his tense shoulders.

"I don't have to; I just want to. Besides, you need some company. Who was on the phone just now?"

"Riku. He's a really good agent, young too. I expect a lot of good things from him…sadly he just ruined his reputation in the President's point of view. But it wasn't his fault that Kairi got kidnapped, the kidnappers were skilled…and now Naminé has become a victim…"

"There, there…just relax. I have a feeling everything will turn out just fine."

* * *

"Status report, Zexion."

"We now know the location of Crucis's current office and home…and Larxene has his sister in captivity. Are you going to send a message to Crucis, sir?" he asked, his blue hair dangling in front of his eyes.

"No, that won't be necessary. Be ready for an intrusion. I'll expect him to personally come."

"Yes, sir…but how do we treat the girl?"

"Just let her sleep in one of the empty rooms on the upper floors…and don't get Axel too close…you know how he is."

"Yes, sir."

Zexion took the elevator up to the floor Larxene and Axel were at. "Boss says to put her in an empty room, but I'm guessing you already did." Axel sat on the sofa, crossing his arms.

"Dragon Lady here won't let me have fun with the little girl."

Larxene shot him another glare. "For heaven's sake, Axel, we may be the mafia, but we're not immoral gangsters…"

"Mafias…gangsters…what's the difference?"

Zexion's lips curved into a smirk. "Actually, Axel, it's the intelligence level…and since you don't have the mafia kind of intelligence…Larxene's just jealous. Toodles!"

Larxene's cheeks fumed up in embarrassment and fury as Zexion left the room. Axel smirked and looked at her. "You're jealous? Aww, I thought you never cared."

"Don't get your hopes up, Red."

* * *

"The Organization, sir?"

"It's an ongoing mafia group in Mirage. It's smaller than the gangster group White Roses, who's leader was killed; but they're more dangerous as they deal with weapons and explosions."

"What do they have against you…sir?"

"I've been keeping an eye on them, and sending their members to jail one by one, so they have every right to have me on the top of their wanted list."

Riku nodded. "What I want you to do, Riku, is to infiltrate their current hideout, which is where Naminé is on this map. Unless Marluxia recruited new members, there should only be four members left. You will enter, take Naminé out, and exit quietly. I want as less hassle as possible. Since the rest are working on finding Kairi…who I _don't_ have on GPS, you're the man for the job."

"If I may ask, sir…where's the signal coming from?"

Tidus smiled weakly. "It's on the pendant of her necklace. Anyway, I'll provide you with some gadgets." He pressed a button and a blueprint-like image appeared on the screen behind him. "This is our prototype stealth equipment. These boots makes you move without a sound, and enhances your landing agility. This belt makes it easier for you to scale walls with its detachable head and the titanium coil that will support your weight. The gloves can turn into a glass cutter, or release chloroform on the palm area for you to knock out enemies. The shades can switch from normal mode to night vision mode and thermal mode for your manoeuvring pleasure."

He picked up a medium sized gun. "This is our latest gadget, the Stun Gun. It stuns enemies with enough voltage to knock enemies out for 5 to 8 hours. It can also short-circuit electrical equipments. It holds 40 bullets, so since I suppose that you're not using much bullets, I'll provide you with one refill pack. All set? Oh, and one more. Come with me after you've changed."

After Riku got dressed into his hi-tech suit (it's not tights, okay?) he followed Tidus to the ground floor. He then walked into what seemed to be a showroom. There, stood a large bike (like Cloud's in FF7:AC) as Tidus switched on the lights. "Our fastest vehicle to date. This baby was made in collaboration with mechanical engineers and even aerospace engineers worldwide."

He tossed the keys to Riku. "Good luck…and please bring my sister back safely."

"You can count on me, sir."

* * *

The bike halted when Riku was 500 meters from the signal. He got off the bike and turned it around for a quick getaway. Taking the keys out, he stuffed it into his pocket. With a smirk, he walked towards the building.

_It's time to rescue the damsel in distress._

He sneaked into the building through an open window on the first floor by scaling up the wall. Inside, he took his Stun Gun and short-circuited out all the visible surveillance cameras and the lamps. He switched his shades to night vision mode and stealthily walked across the hall and into the emergency stairway. Climbing up silently, he shot as many lamps as he could. He made his way upwards without a sound.

_This is too easy. Still, it's only four members._

The signal was getting clearer, so he pushed open the emergency exit door. He was already 8 storeys up. Once more, he shot all the cameras and lights and made his way through the hallway, looking for the damsel.

He pushed open a door where the signal was already very strong and saw Naminé with her mouth covered and her hands tied together to the bed. She winced and tried her hardest to tell Riku that it was all…

_A trap?_

Larxene jumped down from the ceiling and almost knocked Riku out, if he didn't already dodge the blow. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed the glove against her nose and mouth. Once chloroform was released, she fainted and fell to the floor.

Axel, however had an advantage. He pressed the end of his gun against Naminé's neck. "So…Tidus's agent. You'd better back off, otherwise the girl gets it!" he warned. Riku slowly backed off. Axel turned the gun away from her and towards Riku.

"Say goodbye, agent!"

Naminé wanted to scream with all her might, if her mouth wasn't covered with a piece of cloth; as Axel pulled the trigger and a speeding bullet came out towards Riku.

_This is the end…not._

The bullet bounced off his chest as if there was a barrier surrounding his body. He gave Axel no time to sit and stare, as he took his own gun out and stunned Axel until he fainted. He set the gun back on his belt and walked over to Naminé.

He helped untie the cover on her mouth and untie her hands off the bed. "Come, we have to go, now," he instructed. Naminé nodded and quickly took his hand. They raced out of the room. He opened the window and looked downward. Setting it to 8x optical zoom, he saw automatic laser guns being activated on the lower floors.

"It's too dangerous to go down…come."

He took her into the emergency stairway and raced upwards. Naminé didn't argue, until he reached the top floor and burst open the door. They were at the roof.

"Wait…this is the roof, how are we supposed to get down?" she asked, finally.

"We jump."

"JUMP!"

Riku slapped his forehead. "This isn't a time for me to argue with you, Miss Castell…so do you trust me? And your brother's gadgets?"

She bit her lower lip, but took his hand anyway as they ran towards the west edge. "Hold tightly around my neck, and close your eyes." She did so, and he heaved her up before stepping off the edge and fell into a deep dive towards the ground.

Their speed increased gradually, but all of a sudden, they slowed down and landed safely on the ground from the 10-storey jump, as if he had wings to slow him down. Riku quickly ran towards where the bike was already waiting. The automatic lasers fired at him, but he dodged them and ran as fast as he could.

"Hop on," he said, letting Naminé down. He got on the bike after her. She hugged his waist tightly as he started the engine and zoomed off into daybreak.

* * *

"Naminé!"

Tidus raced across the floor and hugged his little sister. "Thank God…you're all right. Did the bastards do anything bad to you?" Naminé shook her head. "Great. Mom and Dad are going to kill me when they find out…but thanks to Riku, you're all right."

Naminé smiled as she hugged her brother. He let go and faced Riku. "Remind me to give you a raise and a bonus this month…"

"No problem, sir."

Yuna smiled as she sighed in relief. "Would you like some drinks?" she asked. Naminé nodded.

"A cup of hot chocolate, please."

"A bottle of cold water for me, thanks," said Riku. They sat at the lobby of the office building as Yuna went off to get some drinks. Tidus smirked playfully as he watched Naminé.

"Doesn't the hero get a kiss after rescuing the damsel in distress?" he asked playfully. Naminé blushed bright red and coughed slightly. Riku blushed as well.

"No, it's not necessary, sir…"

"Aww, but Naminé, you must! It's a way to show gratitude!"

Her head drooped low to hide her bright red face. "Tidus! Don't bother them like that!" scolded Yuna. She handed the hot chocolate to Naminé and the bottle of cold water to Riku. She then took a seat beside the young agent.

"Wow…it's four in the morning…we'd better head home," said Yuna, standing up. Tidus stood up as well.

"Let me send you home."

"I don't think that's a good idea, your Porsche only holds two people. You still have to send Naminé home."

"I can ask Riku to send her home…" he said, smirking naughtily.

"Tidus…I'm tired…not tonight, please."

"More of a reason for me to send you home, right?"

"You show a lot of brotherly love…don't you?"

"If you want me to send her home…I'll be glad to," said Riku, all of a sudden. Naminé looked up at him and blushed slightly, a small smile creeping up her thin lips. She covered her mouth with her right hand in a gentle, demure manner.

"Thanks a lot, Riku," replied Tidus, as he walked off to his Porsche with Yuna. Riku let out a sigh. He walked over to his car (which he rented…), a silver Toyota Vios, and opened the passenger door. Naminé climbed in the seat bashfully before he closed the door. He climbed in the driver's seat, closed the door, started the engine and drove off into the sleeping city.

Naminé stepped into the condominium lobby, which the lights were still on, and turned around. Riku was behind her. "Are you…going to send me off to my doorstep?" she asked shyly. He blushed.

_Wow, now that I've met her…and saved her…she's much prettier in person…and gentle…like a fragile glass rose…_

"Urm…yeah…I guess." They took the elevator up to the penthouse. Naminé pressed her palm against the touch screen and keyed in the PIN code for her house lock. The door made a click sound, making it unlocked.

"So…urm…goodnight, Miss Castell."

"Just call me Naminé, please. Good night to you too, Riku." She stepped up towards him, tiptoed up to his height and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. "And thank you…for saving me."

She quickly hid inside her house and shut the door. Riku, the hero of the day, just stood there on her doorstep, his hand over the cheek she just kissed. Somehow, the cheek felt numb.

* * *

Kairi tapped her foot slowly against the chair leg as she stared nonchalantly at the ceiling. It was nearly noon on her second day in the house. She was left pretty much alone. Tantalus, including Baku, were out on practice with Yuffie. Cid and Wakka were working somewhere. So it was just her and Sora in the house.

_Great…just great…what am I going to do to get some amusement around here? Sora's like a total stubborn head…and he's so cold and distant too!_

A slow rumbling noise came across her ears. "Not now, stomach…Ruby's not home yet…" she scolded her tummy in a whisper. Moments later, she got up from the chair and walked a few steps over to the stove. She opened the fridge and took two eggs from the tray and set it on the table. She peeked into the cupboard and pulled out a frying pan. After setting it on the stove, lighting up the fire and putting a little bit of butter, she cracked the eggs and left them on the stove to cook.

Sora was lying down on the couch in the living room, exhausted from helping Wakka fix someone's roof. He breathed slowly as he wiped off his sweat with the back of his glove.

_This is one way to make a living. I roast myself out in the hot sun and get minimum wage while little miss princess gets millions of dollars without breaking a sweat._

The house was much cooler and the fan was blowing at him in full speed. He sighed in relief and was about to close his eyes and relax when…

"Aaahhh!"

The ear-piercing scream woke Sora and he rushed as quickly towards the source of the sound. "What the…" he began, and halted to take an animated fall. Kairi's fried eggs were not fried, they were as black as charcoal! Black smoke rose up as the egg was on fire. She was screaming while trying to fan out the fire and squeaking slightly.

Sora sighed and turned off the stove. He grabbed the fire extinguisher out the broom cupboard, pulled off the pin, and sprayed the stove with its white foam. After the fire died down, he set the heavy equipment on the floor and looked angrily at Kairi. She looked up at him with a timid, embarrassed face.

"You're lucky I'm home, otherwise you would've burned the house down and I would have killed you!" he yelled in anger. Kairi winced slightly, like hearing a loud bang of thunder.

"I'm sorry I caused you trouble…" she muttered. "It's not my fault I can't cook; I've never actually cooked before."

Sora looked at her with sheer bewilderment. The pretty, iconic heiress doesn't know how to cook? Sora couldn't believe his ears. "You can't be serious! You haven't even toasted bread?" Her face reddened up.

"Well, I KNOW how to toast bread, thank you very much."

Sora took another glimpse at her. She was pouting cutely, staring at him with those eyes of hers. The ever-changing, predictable eyes of hers. A thought struck his mind. Would it be possible? Would she be willing? Maybe, just maybe.

He stood up and looked at her straight in the eye. "You may not be able to know how to cook, but you can clean, right? Clean up…I'll be down in 15 minutes after a shower. Get ready for your first lesson."

She looked back at him, puzzled. "Get ready for what lessons?"

"Cooking lessons, princess."

* * *

Kairi's eyes trailed Sora's tall frame as he walked towards the stairs to get upstairs. Her ears still felt like something was ringing. She turned back to the mess she started and turned bright red.

_Cooking lessons? He can cook? Well, I suppose he could cook better than me…but gosh…I didn't know any other hot guys except Squall Leonheart could cook!_

Taking her mind back to its original focus, she took a rag from the kitchen table and wiped up the powdery mess on the table. She rinsed the cloth and hung it up by the grilled window to dry. She tossed the charcoal eggs into the bin and washed the pan and kept it in the cupboard.

_Thank God I saw how Mrs. Miller does the housework…_

Sora came down to the kitchen later as he promised, dressed in a cotton white T-shirt and black ¾ pants. He whistled. "Huu, you're not bad at cleaning up, princess."

"I have a name, you know."

"Sure, Kai-ree. Now let's get started. What do you want to cook?"

"Erm…I dunno…an omelette would be nice."

Sora smirked. "That's easy. Grab a few eggs from the fridge, I'll show you."

Kairi took a few eggs from the tray and set it down on the kitchen table. Sora, on the other hand, took an egg beater and a bowl from the cupboard, as well as the pan that Kairi just washed. He set the pan on the stove.

"First, you break the eggs and in it goes into the bowl. What do you want in your omelette?" he asked, breaking the eggs like a pro and dropping its contents into the bowl before tossing the shells in the kitchen sink.

"I usually have it with onions, parsley…that kind of stuff."

"Good. Then take them out of the fridge and I'll cut them."

Kairi did as she was told to, and she gaped in amazement as Sora took them from her hands, rinsed it under running water, and was chopping them up in a matter of seconds.

"Wow…where'd you learn how to cook?" she asked, flabbergasted.

He turned to her. "My mother taught me when I was little…she always told me not to be like my dad who couldn't cook."

The depressing aura that he expected didn't come out, and to his surprise, Kairi smiled back at him. "Gee, that's so lucky of you. My parents can't cook."

Sora found himself smiling with her. "Well, that means you gotta start from square one, right?" She nodded.

_Strange…usually people will go "I'm sorry" when I talk about my parents…why is she so cheerful?_

After frying the omelette to perfection, he scooped it off the pan and onto the plate. "Lunch is served. Of course, this one is mine. I'll help you make your own."

Kairi nodded. At that moment, everything seemed to have disappeared. Status, hate, acknowledgement, embarrassment…everything. It was as if they both were living in their own cosy little world.

"Too little salt! It's going to taste like your grandma's socks."

Kairi giggled. She took another pinch of salt and sprinkled it into the batter. "How do you know how my grandma's socks taste like?"

Sora grinned. "Don't question your teacher! Now beat the eggs!"

After beating the eggs, Sora told her to pour the batter into the pan. As she did, it made a hissing sound that scared her.

"Jeez, it's just batter, not hot oil. How are you going to make French fries?" scolded Sora. "Now you flip it, like this."

He picked up the spatula and scooped underneath the fried egg. "You pick it up and turn it over. Here." He handed the spatula to Kairi.

She did the same, but couldn't bring herself to flip it over. With a frustrated sigh, Sora stood behind her and held the pan handle with his left hand and her right hand with his right.

"Like this!" he almost yelled into her ear, flipping over the omelette. After the egg made another hissing sound, Sora realised the position he was in.

_Whoa…her hair smells so good…_

He quickly backed off, suddenly red in the face. Kairi turned to him and smiled, her cheeks tainted pink. "Thanks…" she said, before turning back to the egg.

Sora sat down on the kitchen table and watched as she picked the egg up and put it on her own plate with a grin on her face. She grabbed a fork and knife off the kitchen drawer and sat across Sora, smiling like a 50-watt bulb.

"Yay! I finally cooked something! Thanks Sora, I couldn't have done it without you."

He looked at her smiling face and smiled. As Kairi sliced a bit of the egg and picked it up with her fork, Sora suddenly moved forward and grabbed her left wrist with his right hand and popped the piece of egg into his mouth.

"Hey!" wailed Kairi. Sora took a few chews and swallowed it.

"It's edible."

Kairi pouted at him. They said no more, and ate lunch silently. When they were washing the dishes, Kairi spoke up.

"Do you still want to take revenge on the uptowns?"

He looked at her. "Not really. It's a waste of my time…but don't think I'll let _you_ off easy."

She looked back at him. "What do you mean by that?" she asked in a challenging tone.

They kept silent once more. Sora found himself drawing closer towards her without realising it. Kairi felt warmth surrounding her entire body…as she closed her eyes…Sora's lips only inches away from hers…

* * *

To be continued…

* * *

A/n: Bwahaha! That's so cute. CLIFFHANGER! I've finished my exams, rejoice with me! But I still have to go to school…the finals are over for pete's sake…(sigh)

How did you like the Sokairi and Namiku moments? Riku is a good hero…and Sora's a good cook. Wow. Sora will make a nice wife. (laughs) Please review!


	5. Farewell

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

* * *

A/n: THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS! I just need to put an FYI…Naminé's family (Castell) owns condominiums, apartment buildings and housing estates in the country.

Disclaimer: Characters © Tetsuya Nomura and Yoshitaka Amano; Story and plot © Chiharu Tanaka 2005

* * *

**Chapter 5: Farewell**

* * *

"We're HOME!"

Yuffie's ultra-loud voice startled them, and both of them backed away quickly, blushing bright red. Yuffie took a few happy skips and landed in the kitchen.

"Yo! What are you guys doing? Oh my God, you guys already ATE! RUBY, THEY ATE BEFORE US!" she squawked. Ruby emerged in the kitchen and Sora quickly turned back to the dishes. She blinked in surprise.

_Wait…Kairi can't cook…so that means Sora did? That's strange…Sora doesn't cook for anyone but himself…_

* * *

Friday's morning sunshine hit against the glass window of the shabby old house. Kairi couldn't help but smile as she looked at the bright spring day that awaited her.

_Spring is ending…and summer is in a few days…and I finally get to go home today._

She quickly took a shower and dressed herself in another one of Yuffie's presents to her, a light blue tank top and ¾ blue jeans. She rushed down the stairs and was greeted by the whole gang, who were already up.

"Wow…you really can't wait to go home, can't you?" asked Sora. For a second, Kairi thought that he sounded reluctant to let her go.

She sat between Yuffie and Ruby, who were on the verge of tears. "Kai…you're the nicest girl I've ever met! Don't forget us, okay?" said Yuffie, crying while hugging her.

Kairi wiped away a tear that escaped her eyes. "I won't, I promise…" she said. Ruby hugged her as well, in tears.

"We felt like you were one of us…we're gonna miss you so much!" wailed Ruby.

After they shared enough sentiment, Cid coughed a little and called for a brief discussion.

"So, someone's gonna hafta take Kairi home, coz if we all do, we'll get caught…and that won't be pretty. And Kairi…you have to promise not to reveal us to da cops…which I trust that you ain't gonna do…"

Kairi smiled. "I won't, I promise."

"Okay, so I think you kinda have to play along. Make them believe that you've never seen us because…"

"I was blindfolded?"

"Yea, yea, that's a good one. And you didn't know where we took you…and don't know how we take you back."

Kairi nodded. Cid resumed his asking again. "So, who's gonna volunteer?"

Yuffie and Ruby shook their heads. "We can't do it, 'cause we couldn't bear the farewell…and that might blow our cover."

Silence ensued. It was only broken when one hand was raised into the air.

"I'll do it," said Sora. Everyone turned to look at him once more.

"Okay, Sora's going. Now, how exactly are ya gonna get past the security? Tantalus, help us out."

Baku thought for a moment. As Tantalus's manager and scriptwriter, he knows a lot of believable tricks.

"Ah, I know. Kairi can be a grandma…while Sora can be the granddaughter. Guards are suckers for that."

Sora looked at Baku in disbelief. "What do you mean, granddaughter?"

"I mean exactly that. C'mon, there's no way you're coming in as a guy, the guards are super alert on guys from downtown! Besides, you'll look like one after makeup."

Zidane, Cinna, Wakka and Blank stifled their laughs. "I gotta see and photograph this," said Zidane.

Sora turned to look at Kairi. With a sheepish smile, she just shrugged. A final sigh, and Sora finally spoke up.

"Fine…I'll do it."

* * *

The boys, as well as Cid, burst out laughing when they saw what Yuffie and Ruby did to Sora. His spiky brown hair was weighed down with a ton of hair gel, and two extra pigtails popped out of nowhere from the back of his head. He wore a loose-fitting blouse and a long skirt. His face was done with light makeup; some lip gloss, light eye shadow, mascara and blusher.

Yuffie and Ruby wailed from behind him as he scowled angrily. "Oh my gosh, Sora, you're so CUTE!" wailed Ruby, hugging him. Kairi, who was wearing an old cloak and a grey wig, holding a cane on her right hand, giggled as she saw Sora's cuteness.

"Splendid job, you two…I didn't even recognise the boy!" said Baku before guffawing.

Once everyone got over Sora, Ruby proceeded to put the makeup on Kairi. She fitted a theatre-like mask on Kairi's face, and once perfectly fitted, Kairi looked like she aged 50 years! Everyone was shocked to see Kairi become so old.

They left after some final touches on the two's faces. Sora was stomping around with his new outfit, and Kairi shot a glare at him.

"How about you try walking like a girl?" she asked. Sora scowled.

"Fine."

"You're lucky they didn't make you wear high heels…or a bra, for that matter."

They took a bus to the outskirts of uptown. There, they walked up to a gate where a few guards were standing. "Is this uptown, my child?" asked Kairi in the oldest voice she could. Sora gaped in surprise, she sounded so convincing.

"Yes, it is, grandmother. Let's get you checked in," he said in his girlish voice possible. Kairi looked at him in surprise, he sounded really convincing as well.

The guard eyed them suspiciously, but let them in anyway. They walked down the busy streets. Sora took the chance to speak to her again. "Where do you live?" he asked.

"Castell Condominiums. I live in one of penthouses."

"I don't think we can get past the guards to actually go into the condominiums without getting our IDs checked."

"Then we'll just stop by one of the nearest Herrington hotels. Ah, there's one across the street!"

They crossed the street, Sora clinging to his 'grandmother's' arm. They entered the building, and people were doing their daily work as usual.

"Wow…talk about security…not. Where's all the guards?"

"Probably downtown. Now usher me to the water closet."

"Water closet?"

"The ladies room, you dummy."

"You want me to go into the ladies room? Are you nuts?"

"You're dressed like one, it doesn't matter. Besides, I doubt anyone's using the ladies room on the ground floor."

They got to the ladies room, and both of them went inside. As Kairi expected, no one was there. She told Sora to stay by the door in case anyone comes in. Then, she got into a cubicle and changed out of the granny costume to the evening gown she wore a few nights ago. She got out and looked at Sora one final time.

"I don't know why I'm saying this…but I'll miss you. And the rest of them. I'll do my best to convince daddy to develop downtown."

He smiled sadly at her. "Thanks. Now go, your parents must be worried sick." He stepped aside to let her out. She walked down the empty hallway and emerged at the counter. When the passing maids and butlers saw her, they gasped.

"Miss Herrington! You're alive!" screeched one of the maids, and got hit on the head by her supervisor. The supervisor bowed in apology.

"My deepest apologies for the rudeness of the girl…" he said, glasses drooping. Kairi shook her head.

"It's okay…I'm a bit dizzy…could you call my parents or something? And I need a glass of water."

"At once, ma'am."

The supervisor ran off to the phone at the counter while the maid rushed off to get her a glass of water. A butler escorted her to a seat in the lobby.

Sora took the remaining costumes she had changed out of and placed it in a bag. He left the ladies room and out of the hotel, still dressed as a girl. With another sad look towards the hotel, he walked off to head towards downtown.

* * *

"Kairi!"

Calista hugged her daughter tightly as droplets of tears ran from her eyes. Kairi hugged her mother back. "I thought we lost you…thank God…"

Kairi hugged her father, then hugged Naminé who was crying. "Thank God…how did you get here?" she asked.

"Well, they had me blindfolded, so I didn't know where they took me…how they looked like…where I was for the past few days…and how I got back…"

"How many people were there?" asked Tidus.

"Erm…I think it was four guys…and a girl. They fed me though…and sent me back…I don't know why."

"Without any ransom note?"

"No…no note."

_Could it be the Organization who kidnapped her?_

Naminé shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore, I'm just so glad you're back," she said. Kairi turned to her crying mother.

"Don't worry, mom…I'm okay, really."

Zachary, Kairi's dad, turned to Tidus. "Assign a new bodyguard for her…someone more experienced."

* * *

"Thank you for attending this meeting."

Tidus and his 12 top agents, and Riku, were in the meeting room. "The subject of the meeting today is still Kairi Herrington. She may be back, but our mission is to get her kidnappers, and get them good. Therefore, I'd like you all to just continue searching the kidnapper's identity. She said that there were four guys and one girl…be on the lookout."

Tidus took a sip of water before resuming. "And, due to the two kidnappings that happened recently, I'd like to inform the whole agency that living with the person you're supposed to protect will be a priority. We can't have anymore kidnappings. And one more thing…Elena will be assigned to Kairi, whilst Riku will be assigned to my sister, Naminé. Clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"That is all. Dismissed."

Riku left the room with a strange feeling in his heart. He knew that he ruined his reputation because he let Kairi get kidnapped in the first place…but he felt slightly relieved.

_At least they didn't fire me._

"Ah, Riku. Come over here for a sec."

Riku turned his head around and faced Tidus. "Yes, sir?"

"You issued your handprint when you entered this agency, right? I'm kinda busy, so you go right ahead and move to my sister's house. Bring your clothes…whatever you need. And when you get there, stick this chip onto the database, and the PIN is 256394."

"Yes, sir."

When he reached home, he let out a big sigh. "Let's just get this over with…" he muttered before taking out a luggage bag from his closet.

* * *

He stood at the doorway of the penthouse and did as Tidus told him to. He stuck the chip onto a slot, pressed his palm against the screen. "Please enter the PIN number," said the computer voice.

He keyed in the numbers and clicked enter. "Confirming with headquarters…approved. Welcome."

The doors unlocked. He pushed open the door and closed it behind him. He walked from the foyer into the living room and set his luggage down.

_I'd better look for Naminé…wherever she is._

He took a few steps forward and saw a stairway. Curious, he climbed up and opened the door. The warm wind of early summer hit against his face. He saw Naminé, her head facing the sea, where the sun was about to set, her legs dipped inside the pool.

"Umm…Naminé?" he asked, walking up to her. Naminé turned to him and blushed embarrassingly.

"You're here…I didn't expect you until dinnertime," she said in her soft, dainty voice as she hoisted herself up from the pool. Riku felt his cheeks grew slightly warm, she was only wearing a two-piece bathing suit that showed off her slim figure.

_Whoa…what a babe…_

She took her robe off the beach chair and put it on. She walked towards Riku. "Come, I'll show you to your room."

"Did I ruin your relaxing time?"

She looked at him. "No…I was just about done. Come."

He followed her inside the penthouse. He picked up his luggage as he passed the living room. She led him to a hallway, past the kitchen with some doors on the left side of the wall. She pointed to a large white door. "Since you're going to stay here for a while, I might as well show you around. This is my room…and this room next to it," she said, walking forward to another white door. "Is your room. Make yourself at home," she said with a smile. He swung open the door.

"Oh, I sure will…" he said, looking around the magnificent room. The walls were painted a serene blue colour, with white curtains on a large window overlooking the sea. A large bed stood on one side of the room, and the other side was occupied by a few modern white sofas and a large flat-screen TV. He set his luggage against the bed and took off his shoes. He climbed on the bed, face down onto the pillow.

"Care to join me?" he asked with a naughty smirk, turning to Naminé. She blushed and hung her head down.

"No, thank you…you go ahead and rest…" she muttered quickly and closed the door behind her as she left. He chuckled.

_Even when flabbergasted she's polite…ahah, how cute._

Naminé scurried out of his room and into hers next door. She quickly shut the door behind her and leaned against it.

_I know I owe him my life after what he had done…but must I bear with his antics? Dear God…_

She quickly showered and changed into normal clothes before she took a peek out of her bedroom. She timidly tiptoed off to the kitchen to grab something to eat. There, she opened the fridge and took a bottle of milk. She grabbed the cereal box from the cupboard, as well as a spoon and a bowl. After pouring the milk into the bowl, she poured in some cereal and took the bowl into the living room for a bite in front of the TV.

As she was walking, she heard a door open and close, and when she reached the living room, the shock in her brain made her drop the bowl of cereal onto the floor, milk all over her favourite slippers.

Standing by the stairway to her penthouse pool, was her bodyguard…indecently dressed at that moment. He was only covered by a pair of swimming trunks, and a towel draped over his shoulders. Naminé felt her face heat up like a steam engine as her breathing became raspy.

Riku rushed towards her. "I'm sorry…did I startle you? Wait, let me clean that up."

He left for a few seconds towards the kitchen to get a cloth. While in the living room, Naminé mentally slapped herself.

_Oh COME ON, Naminé! You look like you've never seen a shirtless guy before. Sure, it was only dad, Tidus at the beach and Squall Leonheart on TV…but still…_

"Are you okay?" asked Riku, waving in front of her face. Naminé blinked for a moment before she realised that the milk was soaking through her slippers.

"No, let me get that…" she said, taking the cloth from him. He pulled the cloth backwards.

"No, please, let me."

"No, you can't…you're a guest…" she mumbled, and tugged it again. He gave a final tug, which was too hard for dainty little Naminé to hold, and she flung forwards and her head hit lightly against Riku's bare chest. She backed away immediately as he let go of the cloth. "I'll do it…you go right ahead and…rest."

He shrugged and walked back to his room. Naminé bent down and wiped up the mess on the floor and set the bowl upright. She took off her slippers and carried the items to the kitchen. There, she tossed the slippers into the laundry basket in the pantry, and dumped the bowl and cloth into the sink and washed her hands and face.

_Oh God…oh God…_

She slapped her cheeks lightly as they still were red after the fiasco. She closed her eyes and tried to meditate and get the image out of her head.

_Don't think of him…don't think of him…holy cow, I can't! The image is burned, stamped and engraved in my head! Argh! Why does he HAVE to be so…_

Her thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang. She picked it off the lounge table(yes, she eats on a lounge table that connects to the kitchen) and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hey angel. Are you still up for going to the opening of the new art museum tomorrow?" asked Tidus on the other line.

"Umm…yes…why do you ask?"

"Well, the thing is…I can't go…I have a meeting with a CEO…you don't mind if you go alone?"

"Sure, no problem. I can go myself."

"Thanks, angel. Oh, remember to take Riku with you, okay? Bye!"

"Bye…"

The line went dead. Naminé clicked the OFF button and groaned loudly as she covered her face in her palm, slumping into a chair.

* * *

"Are you sleepy?"

"Who isn't…I didn't donate to this museum for the curator to give a 30-minute speech."

"Is it ending already?"

"Hush…yes, I think it is…thank God."

A wave of applause rang throughout the hall. Naminé clapped slowly with a sheepish smiled as the curator stepped down from the stage. After declaring the art museum officially opened, Naminé stood up and started walking around the gallery.

"What do you see in these…ugly, unrealistic things?" asked Riku in a whisper as they viewed a piece called 'The Human Mind'. Naminé shot him an annoyed look.

"You, apparently, don't see the ecstatic value in modern art. Now keep quiet, I don't want any other people hearing you making rude comments."

Riku tried hard to stifle yawn as they had spent 2 hours in the museum. "Are you done viewing yet? It's nearly lunchtime," he asked.

"A few more up ahead and we can get some lunch. Where do you want to go?" she asked, looking admirably at a new piece.

"As long as it's not a place that serves escargot, it'll be fine."

"Yeah. I hate those things."

After Naminé viewed the last piece (Rising Sun), they both exited the museum through the front door. "It seems that everyone else had left…even the journalists," commented Riku. Naminé smiled.

"That's good. I don't want an interview right now. Come, let's go to Pierre's Café. Tidus always brings me there for lunch."

They both walked down the wide steps together, but halted as a black Toyota Lexus drove up to the museum. It was a new one, too. The windows were all dark, like the ones you see on limousines. It stopped right at the bottom of the stairway. A door opened, and someone stepped out, ready to face the young heiress and her bodyguard.

* * *

To be continued…

* * *

A/n: ANOTHER CLIFFIE! MUAHAHAHA! gets shot by readers Okay, I'm really sorry for the cliffie, but it makes the story worth waiting for:D (Readers: What a lame excuse.) 


	6. Lovesick

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

-------------------------------------------------------

A/n: Hrm, got nothing much to say today.

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

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Chapter 6: Lovesick

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Princesses were always the beautiful daughters of kings and queens with long blond hair cascading down like the waterfalls, innocent and gorgeous blue eyes that takes any man's breath away, dressed up so beautifully in silk and satin gowns, their beauty enhanced with stunning jewellery, and their sweet, melodious voice touching the hearts of many. Princes were always the stunning, dashing hero who saves the damsel in distress at the climax of moments with style and debonair, displaying strength and courage. They charm women with nothing but a rose and a killer smile.

Riku thought he would never see the day where the fairy tales his mother read him would actually come to life. The prince, with a short, chic styled auburn hair; blue eyes that gleamed with self-confidence and a smile that rivalled the sun stepped out, armed with a bouquet of freshly picked red roses in his right hand. Even though wearing a casual white long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, he still looked like royalty as he stepped up towards the princess, holding out the bouquet in front of her shocked face.

"Roxas Parker! Wha…what are you doing here?" stammered the flabbergasted Naminé as she picked the bouquet from his hands. He flashed her a wide grin, one that usually made his fans go crazy.

"I'm not going to be an idiot, so I'll go straight to the point. I'm here to ask you out. Are you free tomorrow?"

Naminé gaped slightly, too shocked to say anything. All this time the media had been hinting that he had a 'relationship' with Kairi, and now…the truth hit her like a ton of bricks. She blinked a few times, and felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"Urm…I…I guess so…" she mumbled in reply.

"Great! I'll pick you up at your house at seven tomorrow evening, ok?" he said, before abruptly leaving.

"Huh?" she blurted, as she watched him walk back to his car and slip a pair of shades over his eyes before entering it. His driver drove off towards the main street, leaving her and Riku standing there like a couple of idiots.

"What…just happened?" she asked, turning to Riku. He just shrugged.

"You were asked out by a famous guy. Is that a big deal to you?" he asked back, walking down the stairs.

"Well, _duh_, considering I've never been on a date before."

He looked at her in disbelief. "Then you have a long way to go, kid." She gently tucked a few strands of her blond hair behind her ear, looking up at the tall bodyguard with confusion.

"So you're saying you've been on a lot of dates?"

He smirked. "Of course, a handsome guy like me is bound to be a target for the ladies."

She pouted, placing her hands on her hips as Riku unlocked the car door. "You sound really conceited…"

"No, I don't sound conceited. I AM conceited," said Riku, opening the passenger door for Naminé, who with an uninterested expression, entered the car. He turned around and took the driver's seat. "Now…where did you say you wanted to have lunch in?"

------------------------------------------

"Hello?"

Kairi's voice echoed throughout the room. A cold glass of peach smoothie was in her left hand as she sat cross-legged on top of her fluffy couch, watching TV. She turned the volume down.

"Hi, Kairi…it's me, Nami."

"You sound distressed…what's up?" asked Kairi, sipping on the cool drink.

"Well, you know Roxas Parker?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Umm…when I left the new museum today…he umm…stopped by and asked me out."

Kairi nearly spat out her drink and quickly regained composure. "WHAT! You mean **the** Roxas Parker; international, platinum-record, chart-topping and best breakthrough artist?"

"Yes!" wailed Naminé in her timid voice. "He said he was going to pick me up at seven tomorrow."

Kairi fumbled for the remote and quickly switched off the TV. "WHAT! Nami…you've never been on a date before! And…oh my gosh…Roxas Parker has a crush on you! Wow! I'm impressed."

"You're not helping, Kai. What should I do?"

"Well, it's a free country. Go out with him! Have a great time."

"But…"

"What's stopping you? Tell me."

Naminé took a good look around…and she was still in vicinity of Riku's ears. He was in the kitchen, grabbing a bowl of chips. She quickly got off the sofa and hurried into the sanctuary of her room. After hoisting herself on her soft bed, she resumed.

"Well…I don't know what kind of person he is…I know he's very handsome and all…but still…"

"You're just nervous because he's a famous person…and the fact that you've never been on a date before is wrecking you, am I right?"

"Well…yeah! You can really become a psychiatrist, Kai."

"Thank you, thank you very much. Just go for it, and have fun. Tell me all the details when you get back, okay?"

"…Kai?"

"Yes?"

"Is there something wrong?" asked Naminé, looking at her window in worry. "I thought you would go 'Oh my gosh' non-stop, make a shopping date and help me pick out new clothes?"

"No, there's nothing wrong…I'm just a bit sick, that's all," replied Kairi, half-lying.

"Lovesick?"

"No, don't be silly. I've just come down with a fever. That's all."

"Should I come over?" asked Naminé. She desperately wanted to, since an unwanted guest was in her house.

"No, that's okay. Elena's coming back in 10 minutes. You should start planning on an outfit to wear."

"Shopping isn't fun without you."

"Okay…I'll go shopping with you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay. Get some rest now. Bye."

"Bye."

Kairi clicked the off button with a sigh. Even if Naminé was the best friend in the whole wide world, even she couldn't be trusted at that moment. How could she tell Naminé that she fell in love with a criminal? She grabbed the smoothie glass off the floor and sipped on its straw, hoping dreadfully that the void hole in her heart would be filled. On the other building 200 metres away, Naminé looked at the building Kairi was in and sighed.

_There's something wrong…I can feel it. She's not as usual and energetic as she was after the kidnapping…what happened to her in those empty days?_

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sora."

No answer. Yuffie pouted, her cheeks all puffed up. This was the fourth time she called him! And yet he didn't answer, his lazy self still closed up inside that tiny bedroom of his. Didn't he ever want to come down and eat?

"SORA! THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M CALLING YOU TO COME DOWN AND EAT, YOU DONKEY'S BUTT!"

The wooden door swung open, and out came Sora's distraught face. "Okay, OKAY! I'm going already, sheesh. You could've started without me." Yuffie turned to look at him as he slowly climbed down the stairs and walked mournfully into the dining room. The dining room was already empty, and Ruby was clearing the table.

"Oh, finally! Where were you? You missed dinner! Good thing I saved you a plate. Hold on while I get it," she said, now sounding like a mother. She stacked the dirty dishes into the sink, washed her hands, and grabbed Sora's plate out from the oven.

"Here. I'm sorry it's cold, but we don't have those microwave-thingy that uptowns use."

Sora picked the fork up and poked at his food. Ruby and Yuffie watched him eat at a snail's pace from the stairway. "He's been really moody since Kairi left our house…I think he misses her," said Ruby. Yuffie nodded silently.

"This is the first time I've seen Sora actually with emotion after so long…he used to be like this when he was grieving over his parents…but that was when he was a wee little boy. And did you notice that he actually started to smile when Kairi was around?"

"Yeah…oh gosh…Yuffie…he's in love! Our boy Sora's in love!" exclaimed Ruby with a grin.

"Kids today grow up so fast…" said Yuffie with a sad smile. "Only problem is…they both come from completely different statuses…the poor guy."

"Well…I just hope he does get better soon…after all, a lovesick Sora is much worse compared to a cold, heartless one."

--------------------------------------------------------

"What about this one?"

Naminé was holding a knee-length pastel blue skirt in her hands, looking in the mirror. She turned to Kairi, who was staring off into space again. Setting the skirt aside, she walked over to Kairi and waved in front of her face. "Hello…earth to Kairi…are you there?"

Startled, Kairi turned to Naminé. "Oh…I'm sorry…what were you saying?" Naminé took a seat beside her on the sofa and took her hand.

"Forget about what I was saying…what's wrong with you? Usually, shopping is your favourite pastime! Not to mention, this _is_ your favourite store."

Kairi didn't reply. After taking a look at the world from a different angle, all she wanted was happiness. To be free, to be held within those arms, to look deeply into those beautiful blue eyes, to hear that caring voice whisper to her and her alone…

_Oh for God's sake, Kairi, you read too many romance novels._

"Well? What's going on? Fess up!" wailed Naminé squeakily, slightly impatient, and extremely worried about her. Kairi smiled uneasily and got off the couch.

"Maybe some place more private. Let's just get your shopping done first."

"I'm done picking," said Naminé, taking out her credit card and handing it to the salesgirl. She signed the bill and told the girl to give the bags to Riku, who was standing outside. He frowned as he carried the bags, following Kairi and Naminé from behind. The moment they reached Naminé's house, Riku excused himself quickly to avoid becoming her servant…which he obviously wasn't…and headed to the lobby for a drink.

"What I'm about to tell you…might shock you…but since you're my best friend, and like a sister to me…I trust you to keep this a secret. Especially from my parents and Tidus. They cannot know about this," said Kairi in her most serious tone of voice Naminé had ever heard.

"Oh…okay. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"You remember when I told you that I was blindfolded when I got kidnapped?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I wasn't. I saw all the kidnappers and I know their names."

"What? Why didn't you tell Tidus and your parents about that? Why did you lie? Kairi…" she began, but Kairi cut her off.

"There is a reason. When I was kidnapped, they told me the reason they did so was because they wanted to scare my father…and they wanted the government to take them seriously."

"You mean the kidnappers?"

"No, they wanted the whole downtown Mirage to be taken seriously. You should have seen downtown, Nami…it's like Mirage is divided into two different worlds. We here live in riches and luxury…but they live in poverty…they barely have enough food to feed themselves. I guess, since the downtowns only cover about 20 of Mirage's total population…they're being left behind."

"That's awful…"

"I promised them that I'd do something about their development. I just hope I can find the right time to explain it to daddy…"

"And that's only one of two problems, isn't it? This doesn't sound very serious to leave you so depressed," said Naminé.

Kairi nodded. "There was one of them…the one who kidnapped me in the first place…" Naminé blinked. "I…I think I fell in love with him."

Nothing could prepare them for what happened next. "WHAAATT?" screeched Naminé in complete disbelief, as the information seeped into her brain. "You…you fell in love with a downtown guy! How…"

Before Naminé could answer more questions, Kairi cut her off by blabbering. "Oh my gosh, Naminé, you should've seen him! He's _gorgeous_! Even better than Squall Leonheart and Roxas Parker – he's like the _perfect_ guy! He's got tanned skin, abs that Roxas _wished_ he had, and the most beautiful, mesmerising blue eyes I have ever seen in my entire life!" Naminé sat there, gaping at Kairi's blabber.

_My life just keeps getting weirder and weirder…_

------------------------------------------------------------

"Sora…if you miss her so much, why don't you just…go up there and say hi?"

Yuffie's cheery voice rang throughout the empty room, where Sora was laying on his bed face up towards the ceiling, clutching the little photo frame in his hands. The photo frame he had been treasuring since that day…

"Yuffie, stop talking nonsense…I don't even understand what you're…"

"Oh for goodness sake, you love her, don't you!" Yuffie almost screeched out loud. Sora looked at her wide-eyed, but he quickly covered it up.

"What gibberish are you talking about?" he asked, covering his shock with a noticeably fake laugh. "She's like a total snob…why would you have that idea?"

Yuffie stomped on the floor angrily with one foot, causing a loud thump. "You're _hopeless_! Don't try to hide it from us, Sora – we're very skilled in acting and let me just tell you this, you suck in it."

Sora wasn't offended by the acting comment, but he hung his head down. Yuffie was absolutely right, he had missed her…her smile, her energetic charm, she was like an ideal girl! And Sora, the idiot just let her go like that. Yuffie was still screeching to him, saying things like "You should go to uptown" and "follow your heart", as well as words in a weird Oriental language. Sora felt a vein of anger pop in his head, and unintentionally threw the frame at Yuffie, screaming, "SHUT UP!"

Yuffie leapt sideways, dodging the blow, causing the photo frame to hit the wall and smash into pieces. Sora gaped in absolute horror, walking slowly towards the broken glass. "Oh my gosh – I'm so sorry, Sora!" squeaked Yuffie. Sora coldly replied her statement.

"Get out of my room. NOW."

Yuffie had no problems obeying, she scurried out of the room like a frightened chicken. Sora meant serious business when he used that tone of voice. Heartbroken, he crouched down to pick up the old photo inside the frame.

_Father…mother…forgive me…I did nothing to protect you, whilst you gave me your lives…_

As he lifted the photo up, he noticed another folded slip of paper behind it. He never noticed it before as he had never opened the frame. Curiously, he picked it up and unfolded the parchment. Scrawled over the paper was a feminine handwriting. It read:

_To my son, Sora,_

_By the time you read this, I think we, your father and I, would already be dead. I'm sorry we have to leave you so soon, my dearest son, but your father and I are involved with things you shouldn't know right now. As the time for our togetherness is drawing to a close, I must ask you for your forgiveness, and your father and I love you very much, even more so than our own lives._

_To help you with your future, we have kept a bank account for you. The card and documents are all kept in the safe behind the painting of our family portrait at home. Use the money wisely, and I wish you the best of luck in your future, my son._

_Love,_

_Your mother._

Sora felt his eyes grew hot as he finished reading his mother's final will. Wiping them with the back of his hand, he slowly remembered how his mother was like. She was a kind, polite woman with radiance that matched the sun, keeping her family warm and comfortable. She had brown hair…just like his. And his dad…he was a muscular guy who always gave him piggy-back rides, with a handsome smile, spiky blond hair and deep blue eyes that matched his own.

He remembered the good times…as well as the bad. He now realised he couldn't blame Kairi for his parents' deaths, but what he could do was live – and continue living, on his parents' wishes. In a split second, he made up his mind. Grabbing all the clothes he had and stuffing them into a backpack, as well as all the money he had, he had a new mission:

_I am going to find out who killed mother and father. And maybe…just maybe…find Kairi on the way…_

------------------------------------------------

"You're coming _with_ me?"

Naminé blinked a few times, bewildered at what she had just heard. Riku was standing in front of her, dressed in bodyguard uniform, and just told her that he was coming along for the date she was going to have with Roxas. Naminé turned around and headed for the door.

"You can't be serious! It's not a _date_ if there's three people!" she said, her arms waving around. Riku rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Don't worry – I won't spoil your date, I'm just going to be eating somewhere else _near_ to you, then!" he said, agitated. He didn't know what made him feel this way, but he felt so inclined on tagging along.

_Sheesh, what's her problem? I'm assigned to her by her _brother_ no less…it's not like I _wanted_ to be assigned to her…why is she getting all touchy? Don't tell me she likes that snobby Roxas Parker dude?_

"Fine then," Naminé finally said, hands on her hips. "But don't you dare ruin this…or you'll wish you hadn't been born." She pushed open the door and went out. Riku gave a scoff of sarcasm, before following in pursuit.

_Tch, and what can you do to me physically? Punch me? Kick me? Hah! I don't think so!_

'Oh, she can do much worse things _emotionally_, Riku…' said a little voice in his head.

Riku had to agree with his conscience – in the recent issue of _Teen Pick_ magazine that he had picked up whilst waiting for Naminé and Kairi to finish shopping, it said that the worst thing a girl could say to a guy is, "Can we be friends?"

_Ugh, now I'm agreeing to stuff that giggly girls and timid boys read…what is this world coming to?_

As they arrived at the lobby, Roxas was already seated there, mirror shades covering his eyes. Riku noticed that the girls at the counter were giggling and whispering among themselves, and one even dared to approach Roxas to ask for his autograph. She giggled wildly, running back to the counter and screaming with her fellow girls. Roxas shot them a killer smile, and they all blushed madly, before making weird squeaky noises.

"Ah, Naminé, you look lovely tonight," said Roxas, noting Naminé's presence and getting up from the sofa. He walked to her, took her right hand, and kissed it gently, like a gentleman. Naminé blushed furiously and smiled a little. Riku, on the other hand rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Let's go," he said, trying to drag Naminé away from Riku, knowing well that he was her bodyguard. Riku sighed and kept following them, under strict orders.

_This is going to be one hell of a date…_

--------------------------------------------

To be continued…

------------------------------------------

A/n: This is the third story I've updated today! Wow, I'm on a roll! Well, sorry to have kept you waiting, but I was so busy coping with 12th grade…so I'll try to complete all my fics before the exams starts to pop up like mushrooms after the rain…XD

EDIT 2006-05-07 I changed BHK's name to the default name, Roxas.


	7. The Date

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

* * *

A/n: Thanks, you guys for all your wonderful reviews! XD The magazine _Teen Pick_ is just something I made up. If it does exist, don't believe it – because I don't own it. Lol.

Disclaimer: (goes temporarily deaf)

* * *

_Chapter 7: The Date_

* * *

A white car - a new state of the art BMW 7 Series - cruised down the highways that night. Above them, the night sky was like a sea of black ink hovered with twinkling glitter called stars. The moon was out – nearly full but it still shone brightly nonetheless. As Riku fingered the leather steering wheel of the gorgeous 7 Series automobile, he couldn't help but feel so excited yet relaxed to drive in this wonderful car.

Yet, a small pang of uneasiness rested in his heart. He glanced once on the rearview mirror, watching as Naminé continued talking to Roxas, sitting side by side at the backseat. He clenched the steering wheel unnervingly, feeling himself grit his teeth and them making a weird rustling noise as he saw Roxas place an oh-so-friendly arm around her shoulders. Roxas flashed a brilliant smile of his to her. Embarrassed, she smiled back.

Riku averted his eyes and scratched his neck uneasily as he saw Roxas's blue eyes look at him through the mirror. He paid attention back to the road, praying that he could switch his ears off momentarily to block out their talking. Roxas turned back to the angel sitting beside him.

"Do you like spaghetti?" he asked nonchalantly. Naminé nodded, her blond hair swaying. She tucked a couple of locks behind her ear daintily.

"Oh yes, I love them," she said softly. Roxas's heart raced quickly as she bashfully looked the other way. He knew by the moment he saw her on the tabloids with Kairi Herrington, she was an angel. Perfect was barely a word to describe her. He continued researching about her since – and found out she was the sole heiress of the Castell estates.

_Beautiful and rich. What else can I ask for?_

The car slowed down as it wheeled into the front door of the _Blue Palm_, a famous restaurant that served pastas and other Italian as well as French food that knocked your socks off. Riku stopped the car and climbed out to open the door for the two passengers behind him, but Roxas beat him to it. Riku stood there, paused in his tracks and watched like a complete idiot as Roxas climbed out of the car and turned to help Naminé out. She took his hand, got out of the car and briefly turned to look at the dumbfounded Riku.

After they had walked inside the restaurant, a valet came up to Riku to park the car but the poor boy however, jumped backwards in fright as Riku slammed the door with brutal force before following them in pursuit.

* * *

"Champagne, sir?"

Riku looked up from looking at the menu to the waiter who was looking at him with a bottle of 1942 red champagne in his hand. Riku gulped.

_The meal is already going to cost me half my salary this month...thank God Tidus's bonus can cover that up, and now you want me to have _champagne_? And from 1942 no less!_

"No, thank you...I'm driving," he quickly said. The waiter just raised a knowing eyebrow and walked away. He peered at the menu again, eyes surfacing once in a few minutes to look at Roxas and Naminé who were seated a few tables across him.

_Argh, if he was a brainless baboon...which he is anyway...I would have pounded him! Wait...hold up there Riku, ol' boy, what's gotten into you? Why are you so over- protective? Don't tell me you're..._

"Would you like to place your order now, sir?" said another waiter who stopped at his table. Riku closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter, never leaving his eyes off them, specifically Naminé. He watched as she wiped the spaghetti sauce stain on Roxas's mouth.

_Could it be...?_

"One Set C, please," he said, with deep hatred, though gritted teeth.

* * *

Uptown Mirage at night – it seemed so familiar to Sora. After all, he was used to the darkness. It was his primary element for doing what he was best at – sneaking around. The guards were idiots – they didn't even see Sora come through the main gate dividing uptown and downtown Mirage. As he walked the brightly lit streets, he looked up at the beautiful night sky, reminiscing on just a few hours back...

"Sora...leaving so soon?" said Yuffie, holding back her tears.

"Don't worry guys...I'll be back as soon as I can. There's just something I want to find out about my parents, that's all," he had said to them.

"Here," said Cid, taking out his wallet and handing Sora a couple of paper notes. "It's not much, but it'll help. We're always here for you, m'boy, no matter what," said Cid, wiping away a tear. Sora smiled genuinely and took the money, before giving all of them a brotherly hug.

_Mother...father...looks like fate wasn't so cruel to me after all. I still have a place I can call home; and people I can still call family, even though we aren't related by blood..._

It had been hours since he had entered uptown. He stopped walking, entered a fast food restaurant and grabbed a burger and soda for himself. Curious stares were upon him as he ate silently in the corner of the café, but a simple glare from him left them to hurriedly mind their own business.

He left 15 minutes later, and began to trace the path of his childhood memories. He remembered the house that he and his parents used to live in. An hour later, he reached the said place. It was an English-style Victorian house that stood alone among the empty suburban streets somewhere in the northern outskirts of uptown Mirage. As he sat down on the stone steps, he sighed. Having walked all the way from downtown Mirage located at the south, through the capital center, and all the way up north, he was exhausted.

A few minutes later he got up from the steps and proceeded to the door. It was locked, obviously. He stood there, thinking back on his childhood memories.

"Honey...where did you leave the emergency keys?"

He was only eight or nine...and his father forgot his keys when he left the office hurriedly to pick Sora up from after school activities. "It's in the rose bush, dear," replied Sora's mother.

"The ROSE BUSH! Why did you put it THERE!" wailed Sora's father helplessly. On the other line, she chuckled.

"One, it's to make sure the robbers wouldn't want to try and find it there. Two, it's to teach forgetful people like you, dear, a lesson." Sora grinned. It worked, too – his father never forgot his keys ever again. Sighing, his father put down the phone and rolled up his sleeve, ready to take the plunge.

He emerged with his arm filled with scratches, but it wasn't so hard for him, after all he's Sora's father. Snapping out of his reverie, Sora peered down at the bushes and stuck his hand inside, looking for the key. Lucky enough – he did find the key, severed only with a few scratches.

Sora inserted the key into the keyhole, turned it, and opened the door. The house was completely dark – since it was quite run down already. Sora looked around the dusty living room, where most of the furniture were either gone or covered with white sheets. He took out his flashlight from the bag and peered ahead. Within this house carried many happy memories, as well as painful ones.

He proceeded up the stairs and walked over to the end of the hallway, where his parents' bedroom was. Slowly, he swung open the door and flashed the light around. Everything was still there as he had remembered. The family portrait hung on the wall beside the bookshelf. Everything else was covered in white sheets. Sora lifted the portrait and placed it on the bed. Behind it was a small iron-clad safe, with scratches and even explosion marks.

_Somebody obviously tried to get something within this safe...but who? Why?_

The combination lock was made up of 26 letters, from A to Z. There were four letters to be inserted, meaning from 26 to the power of four, there were roughly 500,000 possible combinations. Sora scratched his head. He just realized that his mother never gave him the actual combination that will unlock the safe.

He plopped down on the bed and sighed; looking at his mother's will and then looking at the portrait that laid down on the bed. He smoothed out the dust on the picture, and looked at his parents' faces staring back at him.

Reading the will once more, an idea struck him. He walked over to the safe and filled out four letters that the robbers would never have imagined.

L – O – V – E

The safe door swung open easily with a hearty tug.

* * *

Naminé smiled weakly as Roxas told her about his recent concert in Spain. Something felt very wrong about this date. It wasn't the date she had imagined at all, it was disastrous. For some odd reason, Roxas was really nice to her, but at the same time, she wasn't really comfortable with the way he was treating her. He was treating her as if she was some sort of angel that fell down from the sky.

"Roxas...did you ever regret becoming a celebrity?" she asked slowly, changing the subject whilst getting the thought out of her head.

"Well, not really...I get to meet a lot of interesting people...and I've always wanted to be a singer ever since I was little and all...so even though I may even have stalkers...I don't really regret making this decision," he said. Naminé nodded.

_Strange...how he wanted to become a celebrity while Kairi and I were born celebrities..._

The dinner ended as quickly as it had started, and soon enough Riku was taking her and Roxas home. Naminé stopped in her thoughts when she thought she saw Riku staring at her through the mirror. He was looking at the road.

_Strange...he looks angry...I wonder why?_

Naminé looked at him, her head titled slightly to the side. She wondered what happened that made him so angry, while completely ignoring Roxas. "So my manager was so angry at them...Naminé?" asked Roxas, waving a hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Roxas.

"Oh, sorry...what were you saying?" she asked, surprised.

Roxas clicked his tongue, suddenly aware that she had been staring at Riku. He continued his story, but kept a glare towards the rear-view mirror of which Riku momentarily looked at. Pausing for a moment, he narrowed his eyes as he was sure he saw Naminé looking at him from time to time, and Riku looking at her as well through the rear-view mirror.

_Okay, bodyguard...if that's how you play the game, then let the best man win._

* * *

Radiant, warm sunlight streaked through the window panes like a thin prism of light and hit Sora's sleeping face. He stirred slightly, turning around to look away from the light but found himself unable to sleep. He opened his eyes, flashing a pair of sky blue orbs. Slowly getting up, he took a stretch then scratched his spiky brown hair as he looked around the room. His eyes stopped at the portrait of his family that he had cleaned and hung up.

_Good morning, father and mother...thank you for everything._

Now that it was daylight, he had a better view of the house. It was still in good shape - only minus was the condition of the dust that that had built up and the grass that had grown outside the house. Sora looked at the deed of the house that he held in his hands. It was one of the things left inside the safe, including a bank book, an ATM card, a set of keys and a piece of paper written by his father.

_The sky is the sole key to the guarded door,_

_Only one knows where it is, and nobody else knows more;_

_If so happens the guardians shall die,_

_That will be the time the key shall come up and rise;_

_To unlock the door, guarded for the nation,_

_And to protect the treasure within for the future generation._

Sora scratched his forehead. What could the poem possibly mean? His father didn't seem like the type to write this kind of things, but he was certain that it was his father's scribble.

_Whatever it is...it doesn't make any sense! What is this door? And why did Dad encrypt this secret into a poem like this? What exactly were Mom and Dad involved in?_

Ever since he returned to search for his past, his life seemed to be more and more mysterious everyday. Sora sighed, giving up on the piece of paper. He pocketed it and went downstairs to look for a rag and a pail to start cleaning up the home that he had left for six years.

* * *

"How was the date?"

Naminé sighed unenthusiastically. "Truthfully, Kairi...it was kind of boring...Roxas isn't half as interesting as I thought he was."

"Just give him another chance, I mean he's practically _every _girl's dream guy! Any girl, except me of course, would have loved to be in your shoes," said Kairi on the other line.

"If you say so, Kai," said Naminé. "Anyway, I gotta go to bed now, I'm kinda tired."

"Okay, then, see you in the morning! Remember, we have tennis!" reminded Kairi, before clicking the 'off' button on her phone. She then paid attention to the wide-screen, high definition plasma TV in front of her and switched the channel to MTV.

"Hey, you're just in time to catch MTV's _Artist of the Month_ - _Twilight_!" said the perky host who was sitting on an armchair. Seated on the sofa was a tall, lean guy with wavy blond hair and a green jacket. Beside him was a young girl with chest-length brown hair and green eyes. The guy sitting on the far right was rather short and plump, with dark brown hair covered with a bandana.

"Hello, world - we're _Twilight_, from the prosperous Mirage!" said the tall guy. The host cackled.

"Right you are, Hayner. These three - consisting of Hayner, the awesome guitarist," she said, referring to the blond. "Olette, the sweet female vocalist, and Pence, the cool drummer, are the skyrocketing trio who are rocking the current charts with their debut single that was released just a week ago - _Sakura Kiss_. Now, what inspired you to come up with this song? It's a real catchy beat, I love it!"

"Well," said Olette. "The inspiration came when we were thinking of something that suited the spring season of May, and since right now in Japan, Sakura blossoms are blooming everywhere, we wanted to give a strong feeling of first love with a captivating beat."

"Wow, interesting!" said the host. "Now, how did you three get to know each other?"

"We knew each other since junior high, actually," said Pence. "We used to...and we still do play instruments as well as compose our own songs. Personally, I think _Sakura Kiss_ is one of our best. I might add a little bit of hip-hop into our future albums though," he added with a smirk. Hayner and Olette laughed with him.

"That's great! Also, we notice that your band as well as the famous teen singer Roxas Parker are all under one company - have you guys ever met before?"

"Well...not yet, but I expect that we shall meet him soon, after all, he's a fellow musician," said Hayner.

"Okay! Now, it's time for a break, but don't touch that remote because we are going to play you the music video of _Twilight'_s first single - _Sakura Kiss_, before the commercials start!" Kairi tapped her chin lightly with her index finger as her head bopped along to the catchy music.

_Maybe you're my love,_

_I wanna meet you now,_

_To give you my precious Sakura kiss,_

_In the cozy spring breeze,_

_Let's start a new romance!_

* * *

Rather aggravated, Roxas pushed the "Off" button on the TV remote and looked out the window. He had been watching MTV for a while - and it was obvious - _Twilight_ was topping the local music...as well as international music charts. Teeth gritted, he clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. It was not looking good for his reputation.

Abruptly, his cell phone rang. He picked it up and answered the call. "Hello, Roxas's line," he said nonchalantly to the receiver.

"Roxas - what have you done THIS time!"

Roxas groaned slightly - that voice could only belong to his manager, Seifer. Even though they have their clashes, Seifer was actually a nice guy - he just didn't seem like the person who showed it. He was extremely strict when it came to Roxas's actions - and even put him under serious vocal and dance training, even though Roxas was already good at both. "The music industry isn't looking for just 'good'," he had told Roxas when he signed the contract. "You need to stand out - be like a star, you get what I mean? Guys like you won't last long if you don't shine."

Roxas owed the guy for taking him to the top of the music world, but now he wasn't in the mood to be grateful; his position as Mirage's best is being threatened, and so was his job. "What are you talking about, Seifer?" he asked back.

"Don't play dumb with me, Parker - Rai's just gave me a heads up from the gossip column of _Mirage Times_. The daughter of Erin Castell? How can you spoil your image _now_ that your position is being threatened by those brats!" Roxas bit his lower lip, listening to Seifer's yell on the other line.

_Damn it, the paparazzi must've tracked us..._

"Are you listening to me, Roxas? I've worked hard to get you this far and I'm sure you have too - but thanks a lot, chicken wuss - for spoiling your own image. You're on your own for this one, don't come crying to me - you hear!" yelled Seifer for one last time before Roxas heard a loud slam from his office phone and the line went dead. Instantly he knew that he was in big trouble.

_They're going to attack Naminé, those vicious sharks..._

* * *

The rays of sunlight brightened the blue skies over Mirage the next day. Riku lazily got up from his bed and glanced over at the clock. It was eight in the morning, and with a loud groan, he raked through his silver hair with his hand, recalling what happened the night before.

After returning Roxas home the night before, Riku kept silent throughout the whole journey back to Naminé's penthouse. He could feel her bright blue eyes watching him as they took the elevator up to the top floor, but he kept stiff and averted his aquamarine eyes elsewhere. "Riku," she said, touching his arm as they entered the house. "Is there something wrong?"

He abruptly blinked once and turned to her. Her eyes glossed with concern, oh how he hated it when she looked at him that way. The same way she did when he rescued her from the clutches of the Organization. He could feel the worry in her angelic voice stab his heart; so he shook his arm off her grasp rather forcefully.

"It's...nothing. Good night," he said quickly, walking to his bedroom and closing the door behind him.

_I should have not treated her like that...what the hell is going on with me? Wasn't Kairi the only girl I'm supposed to have affection for? Wasn't that the reason I became a bodyguard in the first place?_

He sighed. Emotions were so confusing - so he stood up to get cleaned up. After showering and such, he stepped out the sanctuary of his bedroom and walked over to the kitchen where Naminé was making French toast. "Good morning, Riku," she greeted with her everlasting warm smile. He smiled back, rather crookedly.

"Mornin'," he said, pouring himself a glass of milk. He then took a piece of the toast and walked over to the living room to watch some TV. Flipping through channels without much interest, he caught some of topics discussed by the morning news - like the continuing investigation on Kairi's kidnappers and an earthquake in Japan. He changed the channel to MTV and looked at the flat plasma screen wide-eyed when he read the headline of the morning's gossip column.

_Roxas Parker is occupied!_

"Recent photos from yesterday night showed that our very own Roxas Parker is dating a mysterious blond haired girl - we've confirmed her to be the daughter of the rich real-estate tycoon Erin Castell - Naminé Castell! Wow, I had no idea Roxas had a thing for extremely rich girls," said the quirky female host. Riku - who was in utter shock spitted out the milk that he was drinking.

"What's wrong?" asked Naminé, hurrying into the living room after she heard Riku choking loudly. He pointed to the TV screen, gasping for air.

"Those...damn...paparazzi..." he choked out, looking up at her. He stood up and grabbed the phone and contacted the security guard at the front gate. "Don't let anyone suspicious in - orders from Miss Castell, you hear!" he yelled.

"Yes, sir!" said the guard, awaken suddenly from his nap. Riku slammed the phone and looked at Naminé - she was staring rather worriedly at him. He bared his teeth, growling like a tiger as he looked over at the French windows.

"Damn that Parker...look at what he's gotten you in, the paparazzi are never going to leave you alone now."

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Author's Note: Argh yes, I am finished! The exams are over and I'm in my 2-week holiday (yay) and gonna try and update whatever as much as I can. Yes, the song _Sakura Kiss_ doesn't not belong to me, it belongs to Chieko Kawabe (I love that awesome song). And yes, I have been reading too much _The Da Vinci Code_. Expect some Sokairi, Namiku, Namixas and Roxette in the next chapters! 


	8. Saviour or Victim?

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

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A/n: Thanks for the reviews…sorry it took me so long to reply! I was brain-dead and studying my arse off for my college semester 1 finals!

Disclaimer: Talk to my lawyer.

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Chapter 8: Saviour or Victim?

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The brown-haired lad seemed to blend in with the crowd. Wearing a stylish black T-shirt and matching black pants, he actually looked rich. Sora smiled, silently thanking Yuffie for making him the spare clothes for the journey. At least now he didn't look so poor. Armed with the things his parents equipped him, he made his way towards a nearby bank, with hope that he could withdraw some money that his parents have left him.

"Your name, sir?" asked the receptionist at the counter.

"Sora…Sora Strife. Here's the uh…bank book and the uh…ATM card," replied Sora, handing the lady some of the items that his parents left him.

"May I see your ID?" she asked again as she swiped the bank book over a scanning machine. Sora dug into his wallet and handed her his ID. She took it and ran it through the scanning machine as well.

_Oh for the love of God, my ID is genuine…_

"How much would you like to withdraw, Mr. Strife?" she asked, handing Sora back the ID. He scratched his head slightly.

"Can I um…see the account and withdraw…for myself?" he asked tentatively. The receptionist smiled at him and swiped the ATM card over another machine.

"Of course you may. I've reactivated your account through the ATM card, so feel free to use the any of our ATMs outside," she said, handing him back the bank book and card.

"Oh…okay. Thank you," said Sora, taking the items.

"You're welcome. Please come again."

Sora went to an ATM machine outside the bank and lady luck was on his side because there were no queues. He pushed the card in and accessed the account, before pressing the "Account Statement" button. He gasped loudly and stared wide-eyed at the machine's flickering green screen. It was so shocking he had to clamp his mouth to avoid yelling out of shock.

_Current Balance: $10,000,000_

_TEN MILLION DOLLARS?! What the hell…HOW the hell did Mom and Dad get THAT much money?!_

Sora, obviously wanting to scream in shock, took a deep breath and exhaled gently before looking over at the screen again. He started counting the zeros to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. He was lucky there was no one near the ATM at that time, or he would've been robbed blind. He quickly withdrew 3000 dollars, since that was the maximum that can be taken out from an ATM. He stuffed the cash in his pocket, looking left and right suspiciously, before leaving the bank.

He quickly hauled a nearby cab to a stop. "Where to?" asked the cab driver.

"Centre Point Shopping Complex," replied Sora, remembering the large mall when scouting out uptown Mirage weeks before Kairi's kidnapping.

The cab drove smoothly through the hassle-free traffic and came to a stop at the front of a large, elegant looking mall. "That'll be 25 dollars, sir," said the cab driver. Sora handed him a 100 dollar note, and after getting his change, walked up the marble front steps of the mall.

Centre Point was Mirage's biggest shopping complex, but was packed by middle-class people. Sora smiled. With the clothes Yuffie gave him, he was able to blend in with the crowd, no sweat. As he looked at the various people shopping, he noticed that they looked rich, despite being from the middle class.

_Oh, that's right, I forgot. The richest of these people owned hundreds of estates, private jets and cruise liners. Of course the middle class would be wearing branded clothes and driving Toyotas._

He walked into a clothing shop that grabbed his attention. As Sora looked through the jackets and shoes they had to offer, he smiled in content. He was always a big fan of this brand – Nike – but never had enough money to buy any of their products.

"May I help you, sir?" asked a salesgirl. _Wow, that's some customer service…_

"Uhm, yeah. Do these pants come in black?" he asked, pulling out a pair of three-quarter cargo pants in khaki.

"Of course, sir. Would you like to see the other designs from the same season?"

Sora nodded and ended up looking through a catalogue. He noticed that all the clothing were similar to Yuffie's design. He bought a few pair of pants and some shirts, as well as a pair of black and yellow trainers, which totalled up to 700 dollars. Sora paid in cash, which surprised the salesgirl, but she was glad anyway and showed him to the door.

Dressed in Nike, Sora browsed through some mobile phone shops and peered with much interest at a particular Sony Ericsson shop. There was a promotion as people were huddled in a group, holding orange and black themed pamphlets. A guy dressed in the company shirt approached Sora.

"Hey there, brother!" greeted the guy friendlily. "Looking for a new cell phone?"

"Yeah, I am. In need of a number, too."

"You do? I can help you with that. Come right in, I'll show you all the latest Sony Ericsson phone models. I can guarantee that you will like what you see."

Sora followed the man into the shop and peered over the glass display case. "Have a seat," said the man, and Sora set his shopping bags on the floor and took a seat on one of the green lounge stools. "Now, may I ask what kind of main function would you like in your phone? Say, a camera or an mp3 player?"

"Well, I do like music…" mumbled Sora, feeling awkward.

"Excellent! I do too, actually. That's why the Sony Ericsson Walkman phone would be perfect for music lovers like us! What type of phone do you prefer then; a standard, clamshell or sliding one?"

"I think I'll go with standard. Clamshells and sliding phones break too easily."

"Excellent choice. May I recommend you the new Sony Ericsson W880i phone? It's slimmer than a plastic CD cover and is really light too! Your car keys might be heavier than this phone," he said, taking out a really slim silver phone from under the glass case. The guy showed the features of the phone to Sora, which convinced the downtown boy immensely.

He paid for the phone in cash as well, and the man helped him get a cell phone number for prepaid. He told Sora about the benefits of using prepaid as Sora filled the form in. The memory card that came with the phone was pre-loaded with the latest songs bought from the iTunes store. The guy even waved him a hearty goodbye as Sora left the shop.

Sora placed the in-ear headphones into his ear and played some music as he continued roaming around the shopping centre. He also bought himself the day's newspaper, where the gossip headline had the title of 'Roxas Parker's new girlfriend'. He recognised Roxas Parker as the famous singer that Ruby was obsessed about, and his 'new girlfriend' as one of Kairi's friends during the gala dinner.

_Kairi…I wonder how she's doing…_

After a brief lunch at McDonald's, he rented a blue Toyota Corolla from an ad he saw on the common notice board. After a trip home and keeping his groceries and things inside the house, he later drove towards Upper East Avenue, where a BMW showroom was located.

He parked the car and noticed a silver Mercedes in the car park area. He went inside the showroom and a salesman immediately greeted him, before bombarding him with questions and telling him about promotions and discounts. Sora politely told him that he was here to see the cars, because he knew he should avoid spending too much as the bank, as well as the government would get too suspicious.

The salesman gave him a glossy handbook about all the new cars on display and their specifications before leaving Sora to roam around the showroom. He was peering over a sleek silver BMW M6 Sedan automobile when he noticed a man looking at the car as well.

"That's one nice car, isn't it?" he asked. Sora turned to look at him, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. The man was well-dressed in a black suit, white shirt and silver tie, with stylish sandy blond hair and a clean shaven look.

"Uhm, yeah. It is," replied Sora somewhat awkwardly. He continued looking at the polished vehicle as a tall bald dark-skinned man came up to the man standing beside him. Sora could even see his reflection on the car. His brilliant blue eyes widened at the sight of a man atop the roof of the one-storey building beside the showroom holding what looked like a machine gun.

A loud shot was heard, and Sora quickly figured that the sniper was aiming for the man standing beside him. With one swift move, Sora pushed the man aside just as the bullets crashed through the glass windows of the showroom and into the BMW.

They rolled sideways because of Sora's push. The man quickly hid behind another car, and so did Sora. The bald man approached the man. "Boss, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Rude, thanks to this young man."

Sora crouched a little higher to take a good look at the assailant. As soon as he saw Sora's head, he quickly fired again. The young man ducked and turned to Rude, whom he assumed was the man's bodyguard.

"Pass me your gun," he said. The man looked at him, rather bewildered. Rude, however, showed no expression and reached into his left breast pocket to pull out a 9 mm revolver. "Thanks. Cover me while I move forward," he said quickly, before crawling towards the back of the car. The man watched as the boy got up from the ground and sprinted like an athlete towards a wall near the glass window that had broken earlier.

"All available units respond, we have a Code 47 in Upper East Avenue; I repeat, a code 47," said Rude to a walkie-talkie attached to his blazer.

The assailant continued firing at Sora, but the boy leapt and ducked several times, dodging the bullets. The man was amazed at his display of agility as he leaped onto a car to confuse the assailant before disappearing behind the pillar. Rude pulled out another pistol and fired at the assailant, but missed as the assailant was a little too far away.

Sora clutched the revolver and pulled the safety lock. He positioned his index finger into the trigger, and was ready to pull it. The gun near his chest, held with both hands, he waited for the assailant to stop firing. In a precise moment, he turned around and fired a bullet, which miraculously hit the assailant right in the shoulder, even if he was 30 metres away.

The sound of several black cars zooming towards the avenue scared Sora, but the cars stopped at the neighbouring building to apprehend the assailant. 'That was fast,' he thought as he watched several people coming out of the cars and most of them were dressed in black suits, like Rude.

Sora went back to the original spot to check whether the man was hurt. "Hey, you okay?" he asked the man whilst handing the revolver back to Rude. The man flashed him a smile of relief.

"I should be asking you that question! If it wasn't for you, I would've died!" he said, getting up from the floor. He dusted his suit and looked at Sora with admiration. "You're pretty good with a gun and agile, too. What's your name?"

"Sora Strife," replied Sora, outstretching his right hand.

The man took it and said, "I'm Tidus Crucis," before shaking Sora's hand. "I'm not familiar seeing you around these areas…" he said, scratching his head.

"Oh…I just got back from the uh…United States."

"I see. You came here to buy a car, but it seems that your visit to the showroom was ruined."

"Actually, I'm only looking around. I was thinking of looking for a permanent job first, but I have no idea where to start."

"Well, you're in luck then, Sora! I have a highly-paid job that's perfect for a man of your skill!"

"Huh?"

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"Naminé…you have to watch out for the paparazzi now."

The blond haired girl frowned in disdain as she shut the door of her bedroom. "I am, Kairi, I am! But Riku's even more careful than I am – he won't even let me exit the penthouse, no less the whole condominium area! I can't even sit on the roof for fear they might attack me via helicopter!"

The redhead was silent at first, but then gave an amused chuckle. "Nami…I think he likes you."

"You mean Roxas? That's pretty obvious…" mumbled Naminé.

"No, not Roxas, silly! Riku!" exclaimed Kairi amidst a fit of giggles.

Naminé felt blood rushing to her cheeks. "What?!" she squeaked in a high pitch, instead of her usual dreamy voice. "Kairi, why would you say that?!" she demanded, now hugging her pillow closely to her chest like a teenager.

"Oh, please," said Kairi with sarcasm. "You can call it woman's intuition or whatever you want, but I think he does _really _like you if he's super overprotective like this. Is Tidus losing this battle or what?" said Kairi half-jokingly.

"You…you shouldn't say things like that! You don't even know if it's true!" she wailed again, this time her face beet red. She had to admit, Kairi had some truth to her words.

Kairi took a sip from her strawberry smoothie. "Chill, Naminé, it's just a guess. Why are you so uptight? Don't tell me…"

_Uh-oh…busted._

"…You like Riku too?" asked Kairi with a raised eyebrow.

Silence.

"I KNEW IT!!!" screamed Kairi into the phone, almost knocking over her glass of smoothie as she moved her left arm rapidly, while still holding the phone against her ear with her right hand. Naminé hid her face into the pillow in embarrassment, as if Kairi was sitting right opposite of her.

"I didn't say anything! You're jumping to conclusions!"

"Well, silence always means 'yes' – don't you watch movies?" retorted Kairi. Naminé kept silent again, which made Kairi confirm her earlier claim. "See what I mean?"

"Oh, okay! I give in – you win, Kairi!" she wailed. Adjusting her throat to lower her voice, she whispered into the phone. "Yeah, so I do like him…a _little_…but what's so wrong about that? May I remind you of the guy that _you_ fell for?"

Kairi's indigo eyes became a little cheerless as Naminé finished her sentence in a fit of annoyance. "Yeah, you're right. There's nothing wrong about that, but that means that you _don't_ like Roxas, right?" she said, quickly changing the subject.

"I suppose…wait, there's an incoming call," she said, before withdrawing the phone away from her ear. She looked at the screen of her cell phone and it read 'Roxas'.

"It's Roxas. I'll call you later, Kairi."

"Okay, but personally speaking, you'd better reject him a.s.a.p. before you further become victim to the paparazzi. At least if you really do like him, that's okay but don't make yourself suffer like this. Bye."

Kairi pressed the 'end call' button before tossing the Nokia N93 phone on her bed. Now she was frustrated – of all the things Naminé had to remind her of…why him?

She rested her head on the Japanese table before her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shoo away the images of that carefree smile from her mind.

_Most especially those blue eyes…_

"Kairi, are you there?" she heard Elena's voice from the closed bedroom door.

"Come in, the door's not locked."

Elena entered, still dressed in her bodyguard uniform, holding a medium-sized pink box. "I got that dress you ordered from Spring Boutique," she said as she set the pink box on Kairi's bed. "I had to rush to the office again after picking this up. Turns out that Tidus wants extra security during your birthday party. You don't mind, right?"

Kairi groaned. Ever since her kidnapping incident, Tidus was overprotective of her every move, afraid she would get kidnapped again. 'If it means I'll see him again, why not?' she mused before sauntering over to her bed.

Elena removed her blazer and took a seat beside Kairi. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

_Hmm, let's see, I'm missing a wanted criminal dearly and I'm going to have 20 babysitters on my own 18__th__ birthday. Nothing's wrong._

"It's nothing, Elena. You go ahead and relax; it must've been tiring for you. Thanks for taking the dress for me," replied Kairi. Elena gave her a smile before exiting the room. Kairi set the clothes box on her lap and opened it, before pulling out the dress she was going to wear at her birthday. It was elegant and black in colour, not to mention the price tag of the dress, but there was still a frown on her face.

"I still prefer Yuffie's designs."

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"Are you angry at him?"

Riku turned to the voice talking to him with a sour face. He was enjoying a cup of coffee with PB and J sandwiches at the lounge area when the young heiress approached him, all dressed in a pastel blouse and khaki skirt. "Obviously," he replied. "He made my job a lot harder. Just escorting you shopping will need a team of 6 bodyguards now."

Naminé sighed as she took a seat across him. She counted – she had not left the penthouse in 2 days! "Oh, relax, Riku…rumours will be rumours…they'll fade away…eventually," she said, somewhat disheartened. She really wanted to go out and find herself a nice dress to wear at Kairi's upcoming birthday party at the penthouse of the Herrington Hotel.

"I still don't understand why you accepted that date," mumbled Riku in discontent. Naminé raised an eyebrow at him, feeling somewhat stupid.

"It was you who told me to accept the date," she replied blatantly.

Riku's cheeks turned red for a moment, but he quickly scoffed. "Well, you should've known I was just fooling around. You're my boss, you're not supposed to do what I say, it's the other way around," he retorted, covering up his mistake with a lame excuse.

Naminé smiled somewhat mischievously. "Well, since you say that I'm the boss, does that mean I can order you to escort me to the mall? Or would you like an early resignation?"

Riku almost choked on the cup of coffee he was drinking. Setting the mug on the coffee table, his aquamarine eyes were fixed on Naminé for a moment. "That's blackmail, Naminé," he said with an annoyed tone.

She smiled again, this time laughing slightly. "No, it's your job as an employee. Now go get dressed, I want you ready by 8 a.m. sharp," she said sweetly, her elbows on the lounge table, her hands supporting her chin as she stared at him. The petite watch on her left wrist showed 7:30.

Riku felt his heart beating a little more erratically when she looked at him like that, since she obviously was referring to the fact that he was only dressed in sweatpants. He had spent the past half-an-hour at the gym at the 10th floor and was feeling sweaty, and Naminé knew this well.

_Perverted chick._

He gulped down the remaining coffee in his mug, grabbed the last sandwich off the plate and stuffed it in his mouth before walking back to his room. As soon as he slammed the door, Naminé burst into a fit of giggles. She covered her mouth in effort to suppress her laughter, but found herself blushing bright red. It was lonely to eat breakfast by herself, but now that she had a housemate, life just seemed a lot more fun.

_Especially one with a hot body like him…_

Naminé mentally slapped herself when she thought of that. She had to admit, he really looked macho without a shirt on. Thinking to herself as she poured herself a glass of milk, she mused that he must have taken a long time to build them up. The added fact that he likes to walk around the penthouse half-naked like it was his own didn't make things any better. If only she'd admit her feelings, maybe she would get a chance to touch his skin…

_Whoa, slow down, Naminé…you read WAY too many romance novels. This is all thanks to Kairi's influence!_

One building away, Kairi sneezed in the middle of Twilight's new music video. After she rubbed her nose, her Nokia N93 phone rang with a short message tone. She picked it up from the coffee table, hoping for it to be a message from Naminé. She frowned slightly upon seeing the name 'Elena' on the screen. Briskly, she pressed the left button to read the message.

_Can't accompany you to De Fresco for breakfast today, urgent meeting came up. Newbie coming over in 20 minutes._

"Newbie?" said Kairi out loud. As far as she knew, the latest addition to Tidus's elite team of bodyguards was Riku. Does that mean that the silver-haired teenager had been promoted again after the whole 'saving Naminé' incident? She continued to think about it as she set the phone back on the coffee table.

_If that's true, I hope it isn't permanent. I want to see some exploding chemistry between him and Naminé before anything stupid happens that can ruin it…_

Poor Elena, she thought. The lady was like an elder sister to her and seemed to always be working, be it accompanying her to the shoe store or filtering through countless ATM surveillance videos until the wee hours of the night.

_Perhaps I should convince Tidus to give her a break and give her a holiday in the Bahamas. Bora Bora is good too…_

Her mind wandered off to think about possible vacation spots for her dear bodyguard when the doorbell rang. She got up from her seat in the living room and sauntered over to the door. Kairi grabbed the handle of the door and gave it a 90° swing, opening it quickly as she already knew who was at the door. But once the door was open, her indigo eyes widened in shock as adrenaline pumped through her bloodstream in a split second.

The blue eyes, it was unmistakeable!

"…Sora?!"

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To be continued…

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A/n: First and foremost, DO NOT THROW TOMATOES AT ME. gets rotten tomato splattered on her face Okay… I'm really sorry I had to end it when it was just getting good, but I have a million projects to complete and the internet connection in the college isn't cooperating, and neither is the one at home… so uh…please read and review. With sugar lumps on top of strawberry smoothies.


	9. Reunion, Separation

**Unattainable Desire**

_By Chiharu Tanaka_

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A/n: I'm glad for the reviews you guys are sending...so happy to know that you guys aren't giving up on me, with my frequent laziness and work and all. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. If I owned them, be prepared for lots of mush.

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Chapter 9: Reunion, Separation

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The 'newbie' Elena texted about didn't mean Riku in the very least. The young 18 year-old Sora joined the team only days ago. Tidus immediately placed him as a junior under Elena, since the Chairman had seen the boy in real action instead of a simulated test during an interview. Still, Sora had to go through some form of physical exam, and even Elena was surprised at his lightning-fast ability in martial arts and shooting. His shots almost seem to never miss.

Now a bodyguard, Sora stood at the doorway of Kairi's penthouse, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie, holding a small bouquet of carnations in his hand. His messy brown hair was still as messy as ever, though he tried to smoothen out his locks with a bit of styling gel. The First Daughter couldn't love the look more.

"Err…hey," was all he managed to say. "These are…for you," he then said embarrassingly, handing the bouquet to her.

God knows how long they both waited for that moment of reunion. Kairi accepted the bouquet before letting him come through the door. The door closed just as Kairi placed the flowers in a vase on a small table. She turned around to face him, her indigo eyes still as wide as ever.

_Somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming!_

Her mouth creased in effort to mouth out some words, but all that came out was, "How…?"

Sora grinned at her over-the-top reaction. "You must be wondering how I got here and how I landed a job as your bodyguard, am I right?" he guessed. She could only nod at his question. "Well…it's a long story…" he began.

"Oh, right!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Please…have a seat."

The two of them headed for the living room Kairi left moments ago and both took a seat – Kairi at the 3-seated sofa where her mobile phone laid motionless and Sora across her on an armchair. Kairi couldn't take her eyes off him as he started explaining, from start to finish, about the discovery of his parents' will, finding his old house and saving Tidus. He kept the part about the vault in his house a secret, though.

"So now I'm here as your bodyguard," he concluded. He noticed that she was still staring at him, blinking very rarely. "Uhh…Kairi? Were you listening?"

Her dried-up eyes blinked quickly. "Oh, of course!" she lied – she barely heard his story. "How's Yuffie, Ruby, Cid and the rest?" she asked, changing the topic.

"They're fine. Though a little cheerless since you returned here," Sora replied. _Just as how I was…_

"Oh…that's a…relief," said Kairi.

"So, are you still going to breakfast at De Fresco?" asked Sora, his piercing blue eyes penetrating hers.

"Umm…yeah. Give me 10 minutes. In the meantime, make yourself at home," she said, her right hand reaching for her Nokia phone. "Excuse me," she said quickly as she got up from her seat and hurried off to her bedroom. Sora found himself smiling and his face flushed as she left. He tried not to show it, but he was dazzled at her beauty. The scent of strawberries left from her Body Shop lotion still lingered in the room, which made him all the more thrilled.

_I'm so glad destiny brought us together again…_

Once inside her pink-wallpapered bedroom, Kairi locked the door and went inside her larger than life closet, or more like a dressing room. She hid herself between two gowns on a rack and pressed '3' on the keypad of her phone – speed dialling Naminé.

The blond girl was seated at the living room, watching television, waiting as Riku was still in the shower. Naminé dug through her gold clutch purse for her silver Motorola mobile phone as it rang. She briefly looked at the name that appeared on the screen before answering the call.

"Hello, Kairi?" she said.

"Nami!" exclaimed Kairi in sheer excitement. "You're not going to believe _who_ is in my living room right now!"

Stunned at Kairi's chirpy, half-whispering voice, she took a wild guess. "Squall Leonheart?" she asked.

"No, silly – Sora!" squealed Kairi.

When Sora's name was registered into Naminé's brain, her blue eyes went wide open. "WHAT?!!!!" she screamed, so loud and high-pitched Riku cringed, before wondering why the glass doors of the shower didn't break. He grabbed his towel and was about to get out of the shower half-naked to see if she was all right, until he heard her scream, "Oh my God, no way! You did _not_ just say his name!"

"Well let me tell you, girl…I just did!"

Both of them screamed again, making Riku realise it was probably Kairi on the phone with some 'big girl news'. "Oh my God, how? Tell me everything!" squealed Naminé in excitement, adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream as well.

"Well, I wasn't really listening to his explanation because I was ogling at him, since he's wearing a black suit, by the way…"

"Get out!" said Naminé, thinking that if etiquette tutor heard her, she'd get a 3000 word essay for a nightly assignment.

"But bottom line is, he's my bodyguard," Kairi ended with a sigh.

"Your bodyguard?"

"I think Tidus has something to do with it."

"I'll ask Riku then. But goodness! What luck! I have to meet him!" squealed Naminé.

"We're having breakfast at De Fresco later, can you believe it?"

"No way! I gotta meet him! I'm so going to breakfast with you."

"Sure, the more the merrier! But will you be okay? I mean, what with the paparazzi and all…" asked Kairi as the tone of her voice softened, slowly getting up from her seat and looking through the rack of blouses.

Naminé nodded. "I'll be fine. I have a bodyguard of my own, remember?"

"Guess we're on the same boat. See you at De Fresco!" said Kairi, ending the call with a happy tune. Naminé slid the phone shut, a little breathless herself and pink in the cheeks. She stared at the window beyond the TV, looking at the penthouse where Kairi would most probably be scrambling out of her closet after picking the loveliest sundress she owned and putting it on. She could almost imagine Kairi putting on make-up in a 5-minute rush as taught by her make-up artist.

The sound of a closing door startled Naminé from her slight reverie. She turned around to see Riku dressed in his uniform, adjusting his necktie and his silver hair still slightly damp. "Are we going or what?" he asked rather irritably. Naminé just smiled at him when she stood, as his sour mood didn't affect the aftermath of the good news a few minutes ago. Riku was taken aback by her grin, but shook his head quickly and turned to look for a mirror.

He turned around again when he felt her touch his shoulder. "What?" he asked. She needed no prompting, as her hands quickly held his black tie and straightened it into place. Once again, he was flabbergasted, but he couldn't help but take a whiff of her sweet-smelling hair at such close proximity.

"There. Let's go, I don't want to miss breakfast with Kairi," she said, walking towards the door.

She withdrew just as quickly as she came onto him, leaving Riku rather speechless as he trailed her footsteps out the front door. As they rode the elevator down together in heavy silence, Naminé suddenly blurted out a question. "Is there a new bodyguard in the agency?"

Riku's aquamarine gaze turned to her. "Yeah, I think his name was Sora or something like that. Why do you ask?"

Naminé's brain rattled as she searched for a quick cover-up. "Oh, Kairi brought it up…he's replacing Elena, I think."

A smirk crept on Riku's lips. _So that's what the screaming on the phone was about…but why were they screaming about him?_

"No, silly. He's under training, so Elena has him as a junior," corrected Riku, remembering a conversation he had with Elena about the spiky-haired newcomer being quite the good-looking boy.

Naminé nodded, saying nothing more until they got to the lobby door. She placed the large white Sunday hat on her head and put on a pair of sunglasses, as requested by Riku before she left. Once outside, they got into a white SUV with black tinted glass, as ordinary as all the other cars that came out from the condominiums, and Riku drove to the avenue where De Fresco was nestled in.

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She could barely keep her eyes off him. It was torture enough that he looked so good wearing his casual clothes back in downtown, which she assumed were made by Yuffie, but now that he was dressed in a proper suit that was trimmed and pressed for perfection; he looked like something that came out of a men's magazine. But of course, as Kairi took one last glance at him – his attitude and personality was nowhere near like a metrosexual of uptown Mirage, which seemed to flock her by the dozens.

"Would you like something to drink, Miss Herrington?" asked the maître d', distracting her from her ogling.

"I'd like a glass of cold water. Miss Castell will be joining me shortly, so I'll be ready to order by then," she told him. He nodded, handed her and Sora the menu, before excusing himself. Sora felt uneasy about sitting beside the First Daughter, and even more burdened as he looked at the menu and its expensive prices and French names.

"Umm…" he began, wondering what he should be eating.

Kairi smiled at him. "Confused?" she asked. He nodded with a slight frown. She leaned over and started explaining what each item was in English, her polished fingernail tracing down the embossed menu paper. He found himself literally lost in translation as he looked at her unwavering violet eyes, accentuated by long, clean lashes. He never had her close to him, except when he had kidnapped her in the darkness – even then all he could smell was her intoxicating strawberry scent.

He noticed the maître d' leading a blond-haired lady with sunglasses and a silver-haired bodyguard towards them. Kairi turned around and instantly smiled. "Naminé!" exclaimed the red-haired heiress as the blonde hurriedly approached her. The waiter pulled up a chair for her to sit opposite of Kairi, and Riku just took his own seat opposite of Sora.

Naminé took of her sunglasses and placed them in her purse. "It won't take long for the paparazzi to figure out that I'm here," she said, and was immediately interested in Sora. Before she knew it, she was beaming at him, which caught Riku by surprise. Naminé's clear blue eyes turned to Kairi, and catching the eye signal, she started the introductions.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Naminé, Riku, this is my new bodyguard, Sora Strife. Uh, I guess you and Sora already met, huh?" Kairi pointed the last question at Riku. The silver-haired lad nodded, acknowledging the newbie in the squad. "And Sora, this is Naminé Castell, my best friend."

Naminé held her dainty hand out, expecting Sora to accept it and plant a kiss on her hand like the gentlemen of the uptown world, but instead he took her hand and gave her a small handshake. The blonde was taken aback by this, and stifled her giggle by biting her lower lip. Kairi was amused by this, too. Naminé was secretly glad he shook her hand; she never did like the feeling of a man's lips on the back of her palm.

_So he really is from downtown, just like Kairi said…_

Riku had no qualms ordering breakfast, as he took French in school. After they had ordered, the four ended up sitting together at a table eating a very French breakfast with Naminé and Kairi engaged in an animated chatter. Riku's aquamarine eyes turned to Sora, a little curious and even though the brunette could feel him staring, he just poked at the food with his fork calmly, not really enjoying such high-class food.

Suddenly, a swarm of men with their digital SLR cameras hung from their necks started taking pictures from outside the café. Riku's eyes twitched and he was about to get up, just like Sora, but both heiresses held their sleeves, pulling them back down in their seat. "It's okay, Riku, Sora. Whatever pictures they take of me will be of us four eating breakfast. There's no Roxas Parker involved, am I right?" asked Naminé, her voice more tensed than the dreamy one she had seconds ago.

Riku gave a little incomprehensible grumble, before sitting back down. Sora did so too, with a frown on his face. He knew of the story of Naminé and Roxas that had spread across the world, most probably, and he noticed the she wasn't looking very happy about it. But the matter was hers to keep, so he didn't want to butt in; even if Kairi probably knew everything about it.

By the time Naminé had finished her cup of latte, most of the paparazzi had left, figuring out that she wasn't out to see Roxas. "Well, I have some shopping to do," said Naminé, beckoning for a waiter to come and give them their bill. She wanted to pay, but Kairi insisted she did instead.

She handed the waiter her platinum credit card, telling Naminé, "No, I'll pay. It must've taken a lot just to come out of the penthouse, no less the condo!"

Naminé giggled. "Yeah, it took some convincing," she said, her eyes turning to Riku. He scowled at her, still angered at the blackmail he received. Kairi grinned in return, just as the waiter returned with the bill to sign.

It was a little difficult for both Naminé and Kairi to get out, because they were immediately swarmed by flashes of light from the cameras. It didn't help that the paparazzi were asking them the strangest of questions, like 'Are you and Roxas planning on getting married?' and 'How does it feel to give away Roxas to your best friend?'

Sora was very annoyed by this, but he was too busy pushing them back and pulling Kairi to the car they used to get there. They separated at the car park, each in their own cars, led by their own bodyguards. Once they drove away from the café, Sora heard the evident sigh escape Kairi's lips.

"I gotta hand it to you, Kairi, it's a difficult life as a First Daughter," he said, grinning slightly as he looked at her from the rear view mirror.

She smiled back at him from the back seat. "Oh, once you get used to the paparazzi, it's not so bad really. I get to go to places, do charity work, spend my load of money," she said. "But it's a lonely world. I never thought I could make so many friends until I met you, Yuffie, Tantalus, Cid and Wakka."

Sora said nothing in reply at first, realising how cruel her world was. Sure, she was rich, beautiful and famous, but at what price? Both she and Naminé suffered having to be viewed by the public without privacy like animals in a zoo, a simple meeting or date could be misunderstood so much, and having to stick to the etiquette of the prim and proper in order to stay safe, or in other words, boring. When could they hang out at the mall like normal teens? When could they experience freedom just like everyone else?

"I'm your friend, Kairi. You won't be lonely anymore," he finally replied, as true as his heart could ever say.

Kairi ducked her head, blushing at his words. _If only we could be something more…_

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Kairi's 18th birthday arrived with a supreme load of preparation at the Mirage branch of Herrington Hotel. Interior designers, tailors, lighting technicians, sound technicians and event coordinators from all over the metropolis was brought in to make the event a big success – and that was just the decorative part of the event!

Chefs were even brought from Italy just to cook for all the important guests that were going to be there. Of course, when it's the First Daughter's coming-of-age birthday, the President won't expect anything less from 5-star service, and important people, mostly diplomats and ministers were going to attend, along with their children who were acquainted with Kairi.

Kairi herself had to go through a preparation of her own, as Sora had to drive her to the hairstylist in the afternoon to get her hair done, waited in the saloon with her for a few hours, before driving her back to the penthouse, where her makeup artist was waiting to give her face a makeover. The morning of her birthday was already celebrated with a home-like party with her parents, Tidus and Naminé, but the night was going to be a gala event that was only slightly smaller than Mirage's gala dinner a month or two ago.

"I'm sorry I took so long," said Kairi when she emerged from her bedroom, dressed in the little black dress that she had asked Elena to pick up a few days ago. She felt a little bland wearing it, but Sora had to use all his energy just to keep his mouth from hanging open.

Kairi was wearing a velvet tube dress that ended mid-thigh. It didn't show much cleavage, but the thin black belt with a silver buckle that was strapped underneath her breasts made almost all the curves of her body apparent. She had a silver choker on her neck, and her usually straight, shoulder-length red hair was now gently curled, as he had seen after a few hours at the hair salon. It even appeared longer, as he assumed that she did some hair extensions as well. Her face was radiant, but Sora was convinced that it wasn't the makeup alone. Her feet were strapped in a pair of black, diamond-studded Jimmy Choos.

"How do I look?" asked Kairi, walking up to him as she fiddled with the rose quartz bracelets on both her hands.

Sora was too stunned to speak. "Amazing," he said at long last.

Kairi smiled. "Thanks. It's a little calming, at this unnerving time."

It didn't take long to reach the Herrington Hotel and the front area was already swarmed with reporters and paparazzi alike, though not as many during the gala dinner. She saw the numerous bodyguards stationed at every hidden nook and cranny of the front area of the hotel. There were probably more inside, she guessed. The car in front of hers was Naminé's and she saw the petite girl step out of the car after Riku came out of the front passenger seat to open the door for her.

When her car pulled up, Sora did the same for her, and she accepted his hand with ease as he helped her out of the car. She smiled at Naminé's choice of attire, a white chiffon dress with a multi-strand pearl necklace that fell over her chest, and white Mary Jane heels. The hair which she left over her shoulder was tied in a white ribbon. Kairi knew the girl always fancied the white colour, but she just looked a lot paler with so much of it on.

Riku was already escorting Naminé into the hotel, as the shouts of the reporters made talking almost impossible. Sora walked beside Kairi, escorting her as well. The flashes of light blinded him and the questions were loud, which blurred his head a little. But far off in the distance, there was a distinct sound that was definitely not a camera button click.

It was the sound of a gun barrel loading.

All of a sudden, Riku grabbed Naminé by her shoulders; her eyes widened as he spun her around and held her tight, just as the loud sound of a gunshot was heard. The bullet pierced into his back and the crowd became wild. The reporters, paparazzi, doormen, some guests and whoever else around the area, except the bodyguards, ran for their life as Kairi ducked to the ground. Sora grabbed the revolver from his jacket pocket and saw the shadow of a man disappear as he ran from the crime scene. "Kairi, get in the hotel!" Sora shouted, before he chased after the man, and some of the bodyguards followed suit.

Elena was the first to reach the panicked Naminé, holding the unconscious Riku in her blood-stained arms. She shook him gently, tears falling from her eyes as his blood seeped into her dress and she fell to the floor. "Riku!" she screamed, her hands shaking as she touched his pale face, her bloodied hands staining him. "No…Riku!!!" she screamed again.

_You can't leave me now! Not when I'm…falling for you!_

"We have a man down at Herrington Hotel, I repeat, man down! Send an ambulance and police backup immediately!" said Elena, as calmly as she could into the walkie-talkie. Kairi moved towards Naminé, and gasped when she saw Riku bleeding so much.

"Riku…" she mumbled his name, and neared Elena, who was calming Naminé down.

"Miss Castell, please calm down and don't move him," Elena said, fearing if the bullet moving could injure him further. Naminé sobbed, her tears falling to Riku's lifeless face.

"Elena, Sora's…" began Kairi, but someone else cut her off.

"Reno and Rude are already on his tail," said a man with long black hair slicked to the back, crouching beside Kairi. She recognised him as Tseng, one of the veteran bodyguards. "Now, Miss Herrington, please, we have to get you inside."

Elena looked at her senior. "I'll stay here until the ambulance arrives," she told him, and he nodded in approval as he led the shocked Kairi into the building.

Sora, on the other hand, chased down the assailant with the gun in his hands, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He knew he shouldn't have left Kairi behind, but he couldn't let the man get away with it. Riku had been shot, so Naminé had to be the target – not Kairi.

The shadow disappeared into a demolition site of an old building, but Sora quickly followed suit. The assassin knew of his presence and opened fire at him, from behind a pillar of the old parking area. Sora dodged and hid behind another pillar, his sweaty back pressed against the crumbling old wall. The place was dark, and there was barely any lighting except the dim old lamps above them. He reached into another pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pair of night vision goggles, the same one he used during Kairi's kidnapping.

_I knew this would come in handy._

He placed them over his eyes and could see the outline of the man a little bit from behind the pillar. Skilfully, he moved towards the other side of the pillar and fired towards the man. He missed, and retreated behind the wall. Sora heard the man move, and he placed the goggles on his forehead before he moved towards another pillar, dodging gunshots from the assassin. He placed them back on and rounded the pillar before firing a second time.

The bullet fired at Sora almost hit if he didn't jump back behind the pillar. _Shit, I missed again._

He only had four bullets left, since he didn't think he would need a reload when he left Kairi's house. Then, he was struck with an idea. He crouched down slowly, and fired at the man when the man came out from his hiding spot only slightly to fire at him. The bullet struck his leg, and Sora grinned in triumph when he heard the man yell in pain.

Sora quickly turned around and pointed his gun at two more that came into the area, but didn't fire when he heard the loud voice belonging to Reno. "Hey, kid, don't shoot!" he shouted, gun ready in his hands. Rude was behind him, as silent as ever.

"I got him in the leg, but he's got reloads, so hide!" said Sora, just before the man started firing again.

Reno hid behind a pillar next to Sora, and Rude did the same at a pillar on Sora's other side. "We'll get him by distraction. You're a fast runner, so you move as you did before during the test, and we'll follow him from the other side and grab him from there. Okay?" said the loud-mouthed, red-haired bodyguard with a ponytail. Sora nodded, and he was soon on his feet to move to the next pillar.

He fired another shot, and dodged some more as he moved to the next pillar. He repeated until his bullets were out, and he was breathless, but the sound of Reno and Rude tackling the assailant assured Sora that it was already safe. When he approached them, he saw yet another redhead with a gun pointed to his head by Reno while Rude handcuffed the man and took his gun.

"The Organization. Should've known you'd be back for revenge after we caught that blonde one," mumbled Reno.

Axel grumbled as he glared at them. "You took Larxene, so it's personal, okay? Now get me to a hospital, I'm fricking bleeding here!" he shouted at them. Sora heard the footsteps of the other bodyguards approaching them, as well as the distant shrill noise of a siren.

Rude began giving commands into the radio, and Sora turned to see his colleagues apprehend the redhead. "Hey, guys, I'm going to go back to check on Kai…I mean, Miss Herrington. That okay?" he asked.

Reno and Rude looked at each other, before turning to Sora. "Go ahead," said Rude.

Sora thanked them before walking briskly out of the abandoned building. Once he was out in the night, he found himself running towards the hotel despite his tiredness. Was Kairi scared? Were there more of the Organization at the hotel? Was Riku still alive? Are the two still in danger? All these questions played in Sora's mind as he ran. He was worn-out beyond belief, more exhausted than a day working under the sun with Wakka. But he continued running, heart pumping as he knew that his questions needed answers.

The little box containing Kairi's present rattled discreetly in his pocket as he ran.

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To be continued…

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A/n: Yeah, it's a cliffhanger nonetheless. I'm working on the next chapter, and Olette will make an appearance! Please review, it means so much to me, and I'll try my best to reply to every single one!


	10. Where Happiness Lies

**Unattainable Desire**

By Chiharu Tanaka

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A/n: I was wondering about the title I made for this story, actually. Because I planned it so long ago, I kind of forgotten it, but I think it was because the title was a paradox of sorts. Something like that. Now that I think about it, why did I make such a difficult title? Ah, the 'me' of the past was so complicated.

If this fanfiction is OOC in any way, I apologise sincerely for it, because I was a naïve girl of fifteen when this story was plotted out.

This fanfiction is nearly four years old! This shows how lazy I am. But thanks for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: The awesome Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy all belong to Square-Enix. All the brands mentioned belong to themselves – I am not advertising anything. I only own this no-profit fanfiction.

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Chapter 10: Where Happiness Lies

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Kairi's indigo eyes were lacking its usual glimmer, her jacket wet from Naminé's tears as the blonde cried on her shoulder. Sora sat beside Kairi, while Elena was beside Naminé, as the four of them waited outside the operating theatre in Mirage General Hospital. Elena handed the poor girl what seemed to be the hundredth piece of tissue that night, before coaxing her and trying to get her to stop crying.

"It's going to be alright, Naminé…" she cooed, but Naminé's sobbing wouldn't stop. She had refused to change out of her billowy white dress that was stained with Riku's blood, so instead, Elena ran inside the hotel to demand a trench coat long enough to hide her dirty dress. She had also gotten Kairi a jacket, out of courtesy for the First Daughter who insisted on accompanying Naminé to the hospital. Sora, being her bodyguard, followed suit.

Riku was in the theatre for three hours, as the clock showed a quarter to eleven. Naminé had stopped crying by then, but the amount of tears she had shed made her eyes puffy and red. Kairi had to thank for hospital security guards, who apprehended some reporters and paparazzi that tried to make their way in. Tidus confirmed with major news stations that reports could only be published the next day, as the whole crime was still under investigation by the police.

Within those three hours, the four who were at the hospital were visited by some cops. They questioned them about the events, but only Sora knew more, since he, Reno and Rude apprehended the assailant. Sora checked his watch to see that it indeed was five minutes past eleven, returning to the three with a few cans of coffee. The three ladies thanked him, but only Elena and Kairi started drinking the ice-cold coffee, Naminé had instead held it in her hands, lost in her own thoughts.

Four heads turned when a middle-aged doctor pushed open the theatre doors, dressed in his surgeon getup. Naminé was the first to reach the doctor and ask him, "How is he? Is he okay?"

The doctor smiled and gave her a nod. "He's lucky, because the bullet struck him pretty shallow. He's going to be sore, and hospitalised for a day or two, but he's going to be just fine."

Naminé breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, doctor," she said. "C…can we see him?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't let you do that until we've moved him to a ward."

To the doctor's surprise, Naminé told him that she wanted him placed in a first-class ward, and that she was going to pay for all the expenses. By the look of her worried face and the bloodstained dress she wore, and the way she had signed for the bills to be paid by her, there was no way he couldn't let her see the lucky patient of his once he was moved to a private, one-room ward.

When they actually got to see him, Riku looked awful. He was on the hospital bed, with an oxygen tube on his nostrils, an IV drip connected to his left hand and was dressed in a hospital gown, tucked beneath a pastel blue blanket. His face was pale, his silver hair was messy and his eyes were closed, and a finger clip was attached to his index finger connected to the ECG monitoring his heartbeat. The steady beeps reassured them of his current health. Naminé pulled up a chair beside Riku, staring at him. Elena understood through womanly instinct that they should leave Naminé alone.

"C'mon, you two. Let's leave Naminé for a bit," she said, holding out her hands and gently pushing Sora and Kairi out the door, closing it behind her. The Naminé Kairi knew would protest in embarrassment at the point of leaving the two in a room together, but the blonde heiress wasn't in a mood to be shy today.

Elena took out her phone from her pocket. She turned it back on, since people aren't supposed to have the phone turned on when inside a ward. There was a missed call from Tidus. "Excuse me," she said, before walking towards a corner to call the Chairman.

Sora turned to Kairi, who still had a sullen look on her face. He searched for something to say. "I'm sorry your birthday didn't turn out…right," he apologised.

"It's not your fault, Sora. The Organization is after Tidus, and I think he feels really bad to drag Naminé into this now. She was upset at the whole Roxas and the paparazzi thing, but now she has to deal with Riku getting hurt because of her," said Kairi. "I know her; she won't tell me all her problems. I just have to figure them out myself."

Sora's blue eyes gave Kairi a little tranquillity at a tense moment like this. "She really likes him, doesn't she?" he asked, trying to change the topic about Kairi's birthday event being totally ruined.

Kairi nodded. "I think it's been there since he risked it all to save her life when the Organization kidnapped her. But those guys are deceptive and quick, that's why I still fear for her."

"But there's only three members left to catch, so don't worry yourself, Kairi," said Sora. He reached into his pocket. "And by the way, here's my present for you. Sorry it's a little late."

Sora handed a small pink box tied with a thin red ribbon to her, and she accepted it delightedly. She briefly checked her watch. "It's 11:55 p.m., so it's not too late," she said, before untying the ribbon's knot and opening the cover of the box. At the sight of her simple present, she gasped slightly, a bright smile growing on her face, making her radiant once more.

A keychain of a little round puppy with pointy ears, cream-coloured felt fur, a little black nose and beady black eyes staring back at her with a simple collar made out of red ribbon was in the pocket-size box, attached to a chain and a loop for keys. In all her life shopping for plush toys, phone charms and keychains, she had never seen one this endearing. "Sora…" she began. "It's so cute!"

Sora scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh, my mom made it. I found it in her old dressing drawer and I cleaned it a little and gave it a chain. She's really good at making little things like this, y'know?" he said, chuckling slightly as he put on his silly grin. He was proud of his mother's talents, but he wasn't a fan of plush things.

Kairi stared wide-eyed at him. "Sora…I can't accept this, it belongs to your late mother! You should keep it," she said, trying to put it back in the box, but Sora caught her wrist.

"No, I want to give it to you. I know how you like these things…and, well…this was all I could think of giving to a girl who has practically everything in her life."

One could only imagine the sadness of a girl having to witness an almost-murder at her own birthday party, having guests panicked and sent back to their homes despite coming with an invitation, a friend saddened at her day of birth, someone she knew almost dying, and sitting in a hospital with an empty stomach. But her birthday was complete and it was perfect because of him, his gift and what the gift meant to both of them. To him, she was important enough in his life to give his mother's memento to. To her, he held a special place in her heart because she had given him her trust. He protected her because of his job, but he also did so much more – to make her really happy and feel loved.

She couldn't say anything more; the words were stuck in her throat together with the tears that were overflowing from her eyes, kept inside her since the day she left downtown. Not even caring if the paparazzi saw them, or anyone else, for that matter, she flung her arms around him and surprised him with her embrace, her nose inhaling the faint scent of his cologne. Kairi never felt so happy in her life, sobbing slightly as she held the box and keychain firmly in each hand.

"Kairi…" Sora began, and she loved the way he said her name.

"Thank you," she mumbled into his blazer. "I've never received a gift this special before."

Sora smiled as he patted her back. "You're welcome," he replied, gently leaning his face closer to her hair, his lips gently touching the bangs on her forehead. It was ridiculous, Sora knew, but there was something about their height that made him think that they were made for each other. It was like she fitted so nicely with him, he could kiss her if she would stop crying for a second and look up at him.

Elena's footsteps startled them and she pulled away from him, briskly wiping her tears with the back of her hand. Sora placed his hands in his pockets embarrassingly, red in the face as Elena stepped up to them. Though she saw them hugging, she decided not to ask about it until later. "Sora," she said. "I'm afraid I have good news and bad news for you. Although they're both good news, I think." She said the last one with a sly grin. Sora raised a curious eyebrow.

"I called Tidus, since he called me earlier. It turns out that thanks to Riku's injury, the agency will be slightly short-staffed, so I've been reassigned to take care of Naminé, and you will have to move into Kairi's apartment and protect her in my stead. Consider yourself a permanent staff now, thanks to your impressive performance while chasing down the Organization member."

Kairi and Sora both stared at her in disbelief. "I know, Sora's new and everything, but you know what to do if he does anything funny," said Elena to Kairi. "I'm sure you don't want to lose your high-paying job, now do you, Sora?"

Sora shook his head. His monthly salary was maybe ten times more than he could make in a month in downtown. Besides, he wasn't going to do anything to Kairi, whom he treasured.

"Then it's settled. I'll be taking some of my things to Naminé's place, but I think my bedroom there is still intact," she said, which was true since she was Naminé's previous and longest bodyguard. "Finally, I can stop calling her Miss Castell. It sucks to be protocol in front of Tseng and the rest," she said again, before walking away.

Sora could only swallow a gulp as he turned to look at Kairi, who was almost as red in the face as her hair. Coming by once in a while was okay for the previous week he started his job as Kairi's junior bodyguard, but moving into her house and seeing her almost every second of his life?

_Well, that's what the job demands, you moron…I just hope nothing bad happens._

A knock on the door startled Naminé from her concentration. She turned her head to see Elena at the door. "Naminé, we should be leaving soon. We're not family, after all," she said, referring to the visiting hours allocated for non-family members of the patients in the hospital. "We'll come back tomorrow at eight, okay?"

Naminé nodded. "You go ahead, Elena. I'll come out in a minute."

The blond-haired bodyguard just nodded before walking out of the private ward. Naminé turned to the sleeping Riku again. Sighing, she whispered to him, "I'll be back tomorrow, I promise. Until then, sleep well, my hero." Subtly, she planted a gentle kiss on his forehead and stroked his silver hair once more before leaving. As she followed Elena, Kairi and Sora back to the ground floor, clutching the trench coat close to her body – embarrassment of what she did was the last thing in her mind. She was only concerned if she would ever see those aquamarine eyes look back at her ever again.

_Do I feel this way because I'm indebted to him…or is it something else?_

---------------------------------xx

There was an endless school hallway before her eyes. Lockers left and right, with the occasional unnumbered classroom doors; yet there wasn't a single soul in sight. 'Where am I?' she thought, advancing precariously. It had the familiar feel of sunshine streaking into the hallway during a warm spring day, yet the emptiness…it felt so distant to her.

_I've been here before…haven't I?_

As her footsteps quickened, her sneakers came to a halt upon seeing a figure standing in front of her. She couldn't see his eyes, but she knew he was smiling at her.

"Olette," he called her.

Olette frowned, a little anxious. "It's you…" she mumbled, almost recognizing the figure in front of her.

"Olette…Olette!"

The voice changed, and so did the world she stood in. "Olette, wake up!"

Her green eyes opened with a jolt when she felt a hand touching her shoulder. She stared back at a pair of blue eyes belonging to her manager. "Oh…Quistis. Don't scare me like that," said Olette, clutching her chest in attempt to calm herself down.

The manager named Quistis, dressed in a smart beige suit and black pencil skirt with blond hair pulled up into a loose bun, pushed her glasses back up her nose. "My dear, you were mumbling in your sleep. Are you okay?" she asked, taking a seat on the sofa that Olette fell asleep on.

Olette shook her head, her brown curls moving along. "No, I'm fine. I must be tired, that's all," she said with a weak smile. Quistis smiled back sympathetically before patting her shoulder.

"You, Hayner and Pence did a great job of promoting the new album," said the manager. "And after fan-signing, you three had a lot of live performances. It must be tiring, so you guys deserve this break."

The vocalist smiled in reminiscence, since Hayner had returned to his hometown for his break, while Pence was away at his grandfather's house for the weekend. Olette refused to go back home just yet, as she still had a song she wanted to write on her own. Who better to help her compose one than the talented people in her entertainment agency?

"I'll take my leave now," said Quistis, rising from the sofa. "Who knows what else Seifer wants from us? I'm going to see him and set things straight."

Olette's green eyes trailed her as she walked towards the exit of the common room. "How? He's so stubborn!" she exclaimed, knowing well that the atrocious man was always trying to decrease their popularity so that his star, Roxas, could rise.

At the doorway, Quistis turned her heel and stood there, holding the door open. "I have my ways, so don't worry, my dear," she said with a wink. Olette just beamed at her in reply as she exited. 'Everyone knows that Seifer's just jealous because she spends more time with us than him,' she thought with a giggle.

She gave herself a good stretch before picking up the remote control on the coffee table. Pressing a few buttons, she flipped through the channels on the subscribed cable TV displayed on an LCD TV, before stopping at the entertainment news channel which headline caught not only her eye, but her full attention.

'_Naminé Castell comes clean'?!_

"On today's Totally Hot news," said the host of the show as Olette read the headline displayed on the screen. "Naminé Castell, the heiress of Castell Real Estate Company, has been spotted at the Mirage General Hospital earlier this morning. Now, all those in Mirage would know that there had been a shoot out during the President's daughter – Kairi Herrington's 18th birthday party last night, which injured Naminé's bodyguard. He was rushed to the hospital, and when our reporters swarmed her, we did not expect this."

A footage of a video taken from outside the hospital was shown, and Olette felt her blood run cold as they asked Naminé questions regarding the shootout, and most prominently, about her status with Roxas. Her face looked pale, and without warning, she suddenly burst out in a fit of rage. "You want the truth?" she yelled at the various reporters and paparazzi filming and photographing her, as a blond-haired bodyguard tried to shield her from their lights. "I'll give you the truth – Roxas and I are not going out! Sure, we had a date, but that's just one date! I haven't seen him since, and I've had just about enough of this!"

As Naminé stormed off and climbed into a car, more questions were thrown at her before the car drove off and the footage was ended. "So wipe those tears and smile, girls, because it appears that Roxas Parker is single after all!" said the host, adding a dramatic touch to it.

The show resumed with talks about other celebrities, but Olette had already looked away from the television in deep thought. 'So…she endured all this even though she never was his girlfriend?' she mused. 'Why did she do that if she hadn't any feelings for him?'

She brought her feet up on the sofa, and rested her chin on her knees as she was deep in thought. Hayner and Pence, even Quistis knew that she had been in a moody state ever since the news about Roxas and Naminé came out. They presumed it was because of competition of stardom, but instead, they did not know that she was in the same school as Roxas a year ago, in the final year of high school. Even though she knew Hayner and Pence since junior high, she had transferred to a different school for just one year thanks to her father's transfer to Fate Town. They did not know that she and Roxas were good friends in that one year; before this entertainment industry, and their respective managers, had torn their friendship apart to nothing more than acquaintance.

Most certainly, they did not know that she had feelings for him. Olette sighed before picking up her mobile phone, her fingers swiping over the glossy buttons.

_The only way for me to find out for sure is to meet her._

---------------------------------xx

Kairi sighed as she entered the front door, her lips in a frown as she watched her best friend slumped over a couch, distressed about the remark she had made that morning outside the hospital. Truth be told, she couldn't blame Naminé for lashing out at the reporters; after all, Naminé barely had any sleep and was worried to death about Riku's condition. He was still unconscious when she came by that morning, and Kairi herself was going to accompany her to the hospital later that night.

"Naminé," she said, walking to her with a bowl of porridge. "Won't you eat something? Riku's not going to be happy if he knows you're starving like this."

The blond-haired girl lifted her head from her hands, looking up at Kairi with puffy red eyes. "I'm sorry, Kai…" she said. "I…I'm just…"

Kairi took a seat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. "That's okay. He'll get better, you'll see. And when he does, he would want to see you there, in your normal, happy self," she said with a smile. "Now eat up. I made this myself, especially for you."

Naminé accepted the warm bowl and poked at it with a spoon while looking incredulously at Kairi. "_You_ made this?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I know, it's hard to believe the 'Miss Herrington' can actually cook these days," Kairi replied with a giggle. "Sora taught me how to make it, so don't worry, it's edible."

The blonde scooped a spoonful of the warm porridge and put it into her mouth. After swallowing it, she decided to comment on its taste, seeing that Kairi's sparkling indigo eyes were waiting for one. "Wow, Kairi," she said. "This is far beyond what I expected. Sora taught you well."

Kairi beamed in glee. "Thanks for the compliment!" she said. "Now, finish it. You're going to need the energy." As Naminé continued eating the porridge, Kairi picked up a magazine lying on the coffee table and was flipping through it when the intercom phone rang. "I'll get it," she said, picking up the receiver.

"Hello, is this Miss Castell?" the voice of the security guard on the other line spoke.

"No, it's Miss Herrington. What's the matter?"

"Oh, sorry to bother you, Miss, but there's a visitor at the gate for Miss Castell. She says her name is Olette Denver," said the guard.

Kairi gasped a little in surprise, turning her head to see Naminé. "What's wrong?" asked Naminé.

"The guard said that Olette Denver – the very same one from Twilight – wants to see you," she muttered once she got over the shock. Naminé's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and shock, but knew that it was her decision to make.

"Let her in," she said, curious to know why a vocalist of a famous pop rock band wants to meet her personally.

Kairi turned her attention back to the phone. "Miss Castell says to let her in," she said, before thanking the guard and putting down the receiver. "Olette's here? In our neighbourhood – to see you, no less!" exclaimed Kairi with a glee. "Fess up, Naminé, what's going on between you two?" she then said, with a little hint of jealousy in her voice.

"I don't know why she's here either," said Naminé. "I've never met her before. Then again, I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Kairi went to get the door when the doorbell was rung, and she felt herself getting anxious when she saw through the peep hole that it indeed was the vocalist Olette, with a newsboy cap on her head and baggy shorts. She swung the door open and Olette's green eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the red-haired First Daughter.

"Did I…get the right house?" was the first thing she could say. Kairi smiled.

"Yes, this is Naminé's house. I'm Kairi Herrington, and I'm Naminé's friend. Come in," she said, letting the brunette vocalist into the spacious penthouse apartment. Olette looked around in awe.

_So this is how heiresses live._

Naminé stood up when she saw Olette, and offered her a seat in the living room. "I'm sorry to have come so suddenly, Miss Castell. I'm Olette Denver, and I came by because I had something to ask you."

Kairi peered at the two of them. "I'll excuse myself," she said, under assumption that it was a private conversation.

"Oh, no, it's alright, Miss Herrington," said Olette. "It's not that personal." With a nod, Kairi took a seat beside Naminé and waited for her question. Olette fiddled with her fingers, thinking of what to say. "Actually, Miss Castell…I came to ask…well…about your…relationship with Roxas Parker."

Naminé's blue eyes lowered slightly. "I guess you heard the news. But like I said, it's nothing. I have no feelings for Roxas, except friendship. He was the one who came up and asked me out on a date. I just agreed…and it was a bit of a mistake, I realise now."

They heard Olette sigh in relief. "Why did you want to know about it?" asked Naminé.

"Oh, umm…this is embarrassing…" Olette began, blushing bright red. "I…I have a crush on Roxas. The rumours were affecting my concentration."

Kairi and Naminé looked at each other, before smiling brightly. "Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Kairi. "I can't believe you told that to us! That's it; you're not to call us 'Miss' anymore. Just call us by our names, okay?"

Olette was dumbstruck. "What? Why?"

"You don't give secrets like that to complete strangers, now do you?" said Kairi. "If we're going to keep that secret, we're going to be your friends."

Naminé smiled. "Had I known, I wouldn't have accepted at all!" she said. "By the looks on your face and you coming here to ask me personally, this isn't a normal crush on a celebrity either."

"God, this is so embarrassing," said Olette, covering her face with her hands. "I can't believe I just said that out loud."

The two girls giggled. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Olette," said Naminé. "Let's have a truce between friends, agreed?"

It was rather awkward for Olette, suddenly having two new friends from an accidental slip-out of the biggest secret she had for years. "Alright," said Olette. "But since I'm here…how's your bodyguard? I heard he was shot and all…"

Naminé's happy face suddenly turned solemn at the reminder. "He's…still unconscious. I want to go check on him again, and Kairi's going to accompany me to the hospital in two hours."

Olette frowned. "Even if the paparazzi are there?" she asked. Naminé could only nod. Olette pressed a finger on her chin. "I feel bad for rudely coming here and asking you a personal question…so can I help, in a way?"

The two heiresses looked at her, interested in what she had to say. "What do you mean?" asked Kairi.

"You never see much of me, Hayner or Pence in tabloids, am I right? That's because my manager, Quistis, taught us tricks on how to avoid the paparazzi. I think if you use those tricks, we may be able to get inside without even being flashed by a camera once."

The trick was simple enough, to Kairi and Naminé's surprise. In fact, Kairi herself had tried it before, but didn't apply the knowledge. They searched their wardrobes for the most unlikely clothes they would wear, such as a baggy shirt and khaki pants, and put them on before hiding their hair in caps and their eyes with fake spectacles instead of sunglasses. Sora had even lent his for Kairi to wear. Of course, such as is the bodyguard's duty, Elena and Sora had dressed up in their casual disguises as well.

"Now, the thing is, we have to go in a normal car. That would make them even less suspicious," said Olette, who decided to come along to visit Riku. They took Elena's silver-coloured Honda sedan to the hospital, and sure enough, Olette was right – the five walked into the hospital through the front doors without being bothered by any of the reporters sitting around at the entrance.

"I can't believe I forgot that disguises could work!" whispered Kairi to Sora. "Thank God I didn't have to be a grandmother again. But I'll miss seeing you in a dress," she teased.

Sora's face turned bright red. "Shut up, I don't want to remember that," he whispered back. "But why is Olette from Twilight with us?"

"She's our new friend. Now hush, before someone overhears you."

The five entered Riku's private ward without hassle, as Elena had some guys stationed around the hospital in case of reporters or worse yet, the members of the Organization. Naminé rushed to sit by Riku's side once she was inside, and the silver-haired bodyguard was still unconscious. Elena peered at the clipboard hung at the foot of his bed, smirking slightly as the other three watched as Naminé held his hand.

"Are they…?" asked Olette, but before she could ask fully, Kairi only nodded.

"They haven't gotten to first base yet, though."

Olette nodded. 'This explains a lot,' she thought. 'Heiresses like her won't give a damn about their bodyguard, unless she's in love with him!'

To Naminé's surprise, Riku started moving and he groaned at the sudden turning on of the lights and the sounds of people talking. "Damn it, I've just been shot – would it kill for some peace so I can sleep?" he groaned. Once he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see a teary-eyed Naminé.

"Riku…you…you're alright," she said gently, before the tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm so relieved…"

She wiped away her tears as Riku's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't have to cry," he said. "I've regained consciousness after you left this morning. The doctor told me to get some more shut eye, which I think you need more, by the look of those bags under your eyes."

Naminé pouted. "You jerk! You got yourself shot and made me worry all night! I at least have the right to cry about it."

He just smiled as he scratched his silver hair. "Okay, whatever you say, ma'am," he said, stroking her blond bangs as she continued to cry, wiping her tears away as they continuously streamed out. They were oblivious to the other four who were watching them, until Elena gave a small cough. Riku withdrew his hand immediately, looking at his senior.

"When will you be discharged?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," he said. "He said the wounds aren't too deep, so I can resume work…well, table work, that is, this Wednesday."

Elena only nodded. "Anyway, we're glad to have you back on the team, Riku. Get well soon, so you can protect Naminé again."

Riku blushed, and so did Naminé, but as they looked at each other – blue meeting aquamarine – Riku was determined to never leave her side again. He didn't want to see her cry in this sallow state again.

_Don't worry, Elena. I'll protect her, and it's not because of my job. It's because of my duty to her._

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_To be continued…_

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A/n: First of all, I'm sorry this chapter is a little crappy at the end. There's a lot of dialogue, and I'm having a bit of a writer's block. But I promise, the next chapter will be better, with more drama from the three pairings.


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